Following the release of the Doctor Strange trailer, Marvel has received lots of backlash on the casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One. Now they’ve released a statement in defense of the decision.
The revelation that Tilda Swinton would be the Ancient One had many fans upset that the character had been whitewashed. For an excellent explanation on why this is an issue, read Hypable’s article: How Doctor Strange illustrates Marvel’s problem with Asian representation.
In response to the outcry by fans, Marvel released a statement on Mashable:
“Marvel has a very strong record of diversity in its casting of films and regularly departs from stereotypes and source material to bring its MCU to life. The Ancient One is a title that is not exclusively held by any one character, but rather a moniker passed down through time, and in this particular film the embodiment is Celtic. We are very proud to have the enormously talented Tilda Swinton portray this unique and complex character alongside our richly diverse cast.”
In addition to this statement, Doctor Strange co-writer C. Robert Cargill discussed the casting on Double Toasted. Cargill tried to explain that the character is a “cultural landmine” and described the situation as “absolutely unwinnable.”
Apparently, they were also very worried about alienating the Chinese market. Cargill stated, “If you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that he’s Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that’s bullshit and risk the Chinese government going, ‘Hey, you know one of the biggest film-watching countries in the world? We’re not going to show your movie because you decided to get political.'”
You can watch the video with Double Toasted below:
It doesn’t seem like Marvel or Cargill’s explanations are making the situation any better. In fact, it seems to just be making fans more upset. Left with more questions than answers, it doesn’t look like this controversy will be going away anytime soon.