Kevin Feige Regrets Whitewashing Tilda Swinton’s Character In “Doctor Strange”
When Hollywood decided to adapt Doctor Strange and his pals into 2016’s Doctor Strange, Tilda Swinton, usually an A+ casting choice, was cast in the role of the Ancient One. In the film, the Ancient One is a Celtic mystic. But in the comic books, the Ancient One’s birthplace is the Himalayas, which would make them Asian. Executive producer Kevin Feige finally realized that wasn’t the coolest decision, and he’s now taking responsibility for it.
Marvel was probably expecting many complaints when the first trailer for Doctor Strange dropped because after fans saw the whitewashed Ancient One for the first time, Marvel had an excuse ready to go. Here was how Marvel addressed the situation five years ago. via Variety:
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.
Tilda Swinton also chimed in to deny that she was channeling her inner Mickey Rooney, stressing she wasn’t doing yellowface, because the character wasn’t Asian. It was a mess that ended up seeing Margaret Cho dragged into it, because – according to Margaret Cho – it sounded like Tilda sort of wanted her permission to play the character (Margaret Cho’s official stance was that Asian actors should play Asian roles). There was also talk that Marvel wanted the character redone because they were scared Doctor Strange would be banned in China, a huge movie market, due to the fact that the Ancient One comes from Tibet. Tibet was never mentioned in the film, and Doctor Strange just goes to an unnamed eastern country.
This fall we’ll see the premiere of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the first Asian-led Marvel film. Kevin Feige is an executive producer on the movie, and he talked about the Doctor Strange controversy. According to Kevin, they really didn’t think they were whitewashing the character – they were afraid the original Ancient One might be received as a problematic stereotype, and they took it too far. via Men’s Health:
“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.”
Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson said a few years ago that to get away from the old mysterious Asian man stereotype, they tried to make the Ancient One an Asian woman, but that the character read as a “Dragon Lady,” and that felt even more offensive. And after panicking about being perceived as racist, they decided to cast Tilda Swinton. Well, I’m glad people at Marvel finally realized not every Asian character has to be the old man from Gremlins who owned Gizmo. It’s too bad Kevin Feige wasn’t in the production meetings for Ghost in the Shell, because that movie was dying for a nervous, paranoid producer who was sweating the optics. Or maybe there was, and ScarJo said, “Okay fine, we’ll draw the line at putting ‘geisha hair sticks’ in my hair, you happy?”
Pic: YouTube