It's fair to say that social media has been going nuts about Wong's Marvel Cinematic Universe future lately, particularly after his surprise appearance in the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings trailer (where he could be seen battling Abomination). As if that wasn't enough, though, we also got to see what appeared to be the hero's new look in a Spider-Man: No Way Home LEGO set!
As well as confirming that the character will be part of the threequel, that set gave Wong hair, spawning headlines like, "Spider-Man: No Way Home LEGO Set Puts Wong in a Hairy Situation."
When we caught up with Benedict Wong to discuss his role in Nine Days (you can read our 5* review by clicking here), we took the opportunity to ask about the attention he's been receiving on social media, particularly in regards to Wong's apparent head of hair in the next Spider-Man movie.
"My son is quite confused by why I've got hair in the LEGO character and no hair in the other ones! I'm just explaining that to him," he joked. "Thank goodness for portals...you can find yourself in various different movies [Laughs] and I'm glad of that. Hey, I'm a big kid myself. I'm living my own dream really. I'm a massive Marvel fan."
"Also, to be in this existential, incredible...what did I coin it as? It's spi-fi: spiritual-fi. [Edson] is this incredible first-time feature director. Let's put the spotlight on that. Edson is a special, special talent, and we can't wait for the second album."
With that in mind, we asked the filmmaker if a Marvel Studios property could be of interest to him as the next project. "I'm a huge fan of Marvel. I grew up with comic books and everything, so there's always that right project. I think, right now, I'm still growing as a filmmaker. I feel like I still have so much to learn and stories I have to tell, but of course, I'm open to that down the road."
It was at this point in our interview that Benedict got his phone out and started pretending (we think!) to give Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige a call to put in a good word.
"I'll make the call now Edson. Kevin? [Laughs]"
Nine Days will be released in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, July 30, 2021 and nationwide Friday, August 6, 2021. Check out our full interview with Edson and Benedict in the player below: