Simu Liu had a GREAT 2021. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a smash hit. The sequel has been green-lit. He hosted Saturday Night Live. He’s booked all kinds of endorsements, including a recently released commercial for Google Pixel 6. He has two upcoming projects scheduled – Arthur the King and One True Loves, in which he plays the romantic lead opposite Philippa Soo. A first look at the film came out a couple of months ago: 

 

So what’s next for Simu? He’s becoming a host – it was announced this week that Simu will host the Juno Awards on Sunday, May 15 in Toronto at Budweiser Stage, the first time the show will take place at an open-air venue. 

I love how he called himself a “mid-tier celebrity host”, LOL. He’s right, and he’s wrong. When you’re the star of an MCU franchise, you’re not exactly mid-tier. But also, Simu’s not even a year into his worldwide celebrity status. Some people knew him before from Kim’s Convenience, sure, but he’s at another level now, and still not quite at the level of, say, Robert Downey Jr, obviously. If and when he gets to that level, would he host the Junos? 

 

There are some big names who’ve hosted the Junos. Michael Bublé has hosted. Alanis Morissette has hosted. Pamela Anderson and Bryan Adams have hosted. And Drake too, back in 2011, when he was rapidly on his ascent. Simu is also hosting on his ascent, which is what I appreciate about this decision. It’s not for the money, guaranteed. There’s no money in hosting the Junos. And there’s not going to be much global exposure either, although Simu wants to bring global exposure to it – and rep Canadian talent, as he said in the press release:

“It’s an absolute honour to be hosting the 51st Annual JUNO Awards. Canadian entertainment and culture hold a very important place in my heart and getting the chance to experience the festivities in my hometown makes the experience even more special to me.”

For Simu, the Junos will also be a showcase of his skills. We know he can do sit-coms and dramas, we have seen him be an action star, we have seen him in live sketch comedy on SNL, now he’ll be commanding the stage during a live event, which is a different beast all together. If he kills it, and I think he will, could he one day be considered to host one of the biggest events on the events calendar… the Oscars? I’d love to see it.