We are starting to see a big push for diversity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming movie. Peter Parker’s high school friends are people of color, and that’s just the beginning. Doctor Strange, which is coming to theaters this weekend, has caused some controversy with its casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One, a comic book character with origins to the Himalayas.
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige talks about the Ancient One casting controversy and his plan for diversifying characters in upcoming movies.
“In the movies we’ve already made, and certainly in the movies that are coming up, it will be as inclusive a group of characters as one could want,” Feige tells Vulture.
“For us, it’s important that we don’t feel like a completely white, European cast,” he adds.
For Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts had pictures of real kids in high schools, and that helped shape the cast.
“Our filmmaker [Jon Watts] came in and had pictures of real high schools, and they are as diverse as you could imagine…That was something that was important to us, to set it apart from other Spidey films that have been made — to carve that niche — and to have it represent the world today.”
It may not seem progressive now, but Feige talks about how Marvel has been progressive in the past.
“The comics have felt like that sometimes, in the early days, but frankly, even the comics in the ’60s…I mean, Black Panther was created in the ’60s,” he said. “You look at Captain America’s team [back then] and yes, there are things to cringe at, but they were being progressive at the time.”
Spider-Man: Homecoming swings into theaters on July 7, 2017.
from Nerd Reactor
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