ancient one doctor strange

A Marvel producer currently working on the upcoming ‘Black Panther‘ film has admitted that the comic-book company may have made a misstep in its apparent “white-washing” of characters in the past Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

Nate Moore, a producer on Marvel’s next upcoming film release, specifically referenced the casing of Caucasian actress Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One in ‘Doctor Strange’ – a character long identified as Nepalese in the comic books.  As Moore said in a recent interview:

“Sometimes we step in it, a little bit. I think the Ancient One in ‘Doctor Strange’ was a lesson for us, and in trying to avoid a stereotype we created an issue that we completely understood in hindsight, but we want to tell stories for everybody.

 

“We’ve always tried to find room for faces that look like everybody and not just homogeneous casting. [‘Black] Panther,’ obviously, is a big swing, which we hope to continue through many, many sequels, and take some of these characters and put them in even other franchises because I do think there’s a way to cross-pollinate in an interesting way, but it’s also finding new heroes and new stories that allow us to do that organically. Looking at casting as a way to find the best actor or actress regardless of race or gender, frankly.”

Moore was quick to point out a different cinematic franchise that, in his opinion, is one of the leaders in ethnic inclusion in their casting:

“I always point to the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise as sort of, weirdly, the standard bearer for casting a film that travels everywhere, because somebody is represented no matter where you go. I think that’s really valuable. I think it does something sort of culturally that it’s hard to put a finger on, but that you really see pay off.”

‘Black Panther’ opens in US theaters on February 16, 2018.