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Kevin Feige regrets whitewashing The Ancient One in Doctor Strange; Says 'It was a wake up call'
Marvel head Kevin Feige addressed the Doctor Strange whitewashing controversy in a recent interview.
Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige recently opened up about the Doctor Strange whitewashing controversy. After receiving a lot of criticism over the casting of Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One in the 2016 film, the Marvel head has now stated that he regrets it and even considers the whole thing a "wake-up call." In a recent interview with The Men's Health, Feige spoke about the film's whitewashing controversy and how it changed their perspective.
Revealing their thought behind the casting of The Ancient One, Feige said, "We thought we were being so smart, and so cutting-edge. We’re not going to do the cliché of the wizened, old, wise Asian man. But it was a wake-up call to say, ‘Well, wait a minute, is there any other way to figure it out? Is there any other way to both not fall into the cliché and cast an Asian actor?’ And the answer to that, of course, is yes", via Men's Health.
For the unversed, Doctor Strange received a lot of backlash for casting of Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One, a character who, as originated in the comics, was an Asian man. Many fans complained that the studio had taken away the opportunity from an Asian actor and instead cast a white actor for it.
During the film's release, director Scott Derrickson had told Variety, "Diversity is the responsibility of directors and producers. In this case, the stereotype of [the Ancient One] had to be undone. I wanted it to be a woman, a middle-aged woman. Every iteration of that script played by an Asian woman felt like a ‘Dragon Lady.'"
Writer Jon Spaihts had also praised the casting choice saying, "The film 'badly needed' that relating to gender diversity in the film.”
ALSO READ: Kevin Feige REVEALS why Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange cameo in WandaVision was written out
