Marvel defends 'Doctor Strange' casting with new character info
Marvel has responded to the Internet uproar over Tilda Swinton's casting as "The Ancient One" in Doctor Strange -- which some have decried as an act of "whitewashing."
A statement from a Marvel Studios spokesperson, given to Mashable, defends the hiring, citing both the fictional character's background and the progressiveness of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole.
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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.
It's a sensible response. The Ancient One is more a title than an individual being in the MCU, and Swinton -- who is of Anglo-Scottish-Australian heritage -- establishes a new vision of the character.
The latest controversy over Doctor Strange sprung up around comments made by the film's writer, C. Robert Cargill. Comparing the process of casting The Ancient One to Star Trek's "Kobayashi Maru" -- an intentionally unwinnable training exercise for starship captains-in-training -- Cargill contended that critics were bound to take issue no matter who was hired.
"[The Ancient One] originates from Tibet, so if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that he’s Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that’s bullsh*t 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," Cargill explained.
"If we decide to go the other way and cater to China in particular," he continued, " — if you think it's a good idea to cast a Chinese actress as a Tibetan character, you are out of your damn fool mind and have no idea what the f*ck you're talking about."
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Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
