We’ll soon know if Jessica Henwick‘s choice to play Bugs in The Matrix Resurrections paid off. As she previously stated, even auditioning for the role meant turning down a chemistry read with Simu Liu for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Her primary reason for choosing Matrix over Marvel was working with Lana Wachowski, who’s far less prolific than Kevin Feige. But in a recent THR interview, she stated another reason besides the rareness of the opportunity.
It turns out the role she was up for was of Shang-Chi’s sister Xialing, which ultimately went to relative unknown Meng’er Zhang. But had she taken such a major role, with clear spinoff potential, it would have definitely meant no more for Iron Fist‘s Colleen Wing. Marvel has double-cast some actors before, like Mahershala Ali and Gemma Chan, but in every instance, one of the characters was either minor or died. And Henwick didn’t want Colleen Wing to go that way.
“If I did [Shang-Chi], I would effectively be putting Colleen to bed,” she revealed. “It wasn’t the main factor, but it definitely came up in conversation. I love Colleen. She changed my life. Of course, if I was given the opportunity to revisit her, I would, but I just don’t know how likely that is…I think I would have heard by now if there were any plans with Colleen.”
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The Marvel shows on Netflix began as canon with the movies, then later became unofficial. However, Marvel Netflix characters coming back as new versions of themselves in the MCU seems to be a new trend. Vincent D’Onofrio just returned as Kingpin, and Kevin Feige recently talked up Charlie Cox’s Daredevil. According to Henwick, though, those actors knew for quite a while. “Charlie knew about that opportunity years ago. He already knew it was happening,” she says.
On the other hand, even if Colleen’s story is over, Henwick’s happy with where it left off. “I love Colleen,” she says, “but we’ll see. I gave her a happy ending. She’s happily living in New York with Misty [Simone Missick]. They’re running their own business together. So she’s good where she is as well.” Of course, that’s just one variant, as Loki would remind us.
Would you like to see Colleen Wing back? Or would you have preferred Henwick as Xialing? Let us know in comments.
Recommended Reading: The Matrix Comics, Vol. 2
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