Following the studio’s closure on October 21, a trailer for BioWare’s now-cancelled Mass Effect: Universe mysteriously appeared online. In many ways, the trailer was the final twist of the knife, as it looked like BioWare was cooking up something special with the fifth Mass Effect.
Ultimately, however, the most frustrating thing was that, like all good trailers, it left us with more questions than answers. Questions such as “How would this have tied into the ending of Mass Effect 3?”, “Who fixed the mass relays?”, and “Holy shit, was that Simu Liu?!”
After the trailer leaked online, many immediately pointed out that Mass Effect: Universe’s new protagonist bore a striking resemblance to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu. The voice obviously wasn’t his, but those chiseled-looking cheekbones were a 1-to-1 match.
The fact that Simu Liu also expressed his adoration of BioWare and his displeasure at the studio’s closure in a post on Threads, hours before the trailer leaked, further fueled fans’ suspicion. Likewise, Liu also seemed a little confused about the character’s appearance in a reply to the leaked trailer on X.
… waaaaait a minute….
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) October 24, 2026
Kotaku reached out to Liu in an attempt to figure out if BioWare had contacted him about potentially starring in the game, or even just using his likeness for the protagonist’s default character model.
Funnily enough, in the statement provided to Kotaku, Liu seemed just as confused about his Mass Effect: Universe facsimile as the rest of us: “Haha no, I wasn’t involved but you’re not the only one to ask!”
Considering we know that the leaked trailer was only supposed to be shared internally as a proof-of-concept for Electronic Arts executives, I think there are two explanations we can glean from Liu’s confirmation: either the resemblance was a complete coincidence, or BioWare was planning to contact Liu about the potential partnership at a later date.
But hey, considering fans have already thrown enough money at the “Save Mass Effect” crowdfunder to purchase a billboard, maybe there’s still a chance that we might see Liu in something Mass Effect-shaped in the future.
