Chinese actress Li Bingbing has been tapped to star in "Realm," a new superhero film from Stan Lee Global Entertainment and Chinese production company Fundamental Films.
The award-winning actress's recent credits include "The Forbidden Kingdom" with Jet Li and Jackie Chan, "Resident Evil: Retribution," and "Transformers: Age of Extinction."
Li's "Realm" character will be Stan Lee Entertainment's first female Asian superhero.
"What a kick it has been to create our first Chinese female superhero, and an empowering one at that," Stan Lee, former president and chairman of Marvel Comics, said in a statement. "It has been such a fun experience bringing to life an international woman character, and the ability to do so has been different from anything we've ever done! I am thoroughly enjoying every minute of it."
Lee, co-creator of a number of now-famous superheroes including Spider-Man and the Hulk, was sparse on the details and powers of his newest character, and plot points for the film remain unknown.
Despite the broad appeal of recent superhero films, such as the "Avengers" and "X-Men" franchises, there is still a lack of female superheroes, let alone female superheroes of color, in leading roles—both on the big and small screens.
The news about "Realm" isn't the first groundbreaking headline for superhero diversity this year. In September, Marvel revealed that Amadeus Cho, a Korean-American character, would become the new Hulk.
