Actor Anthony Mackie criticises Marvel for raising racism behind the camera. Is Marvel diversifying its universe?
Actor Anthony Mackie, who portrays as Sam Wilson aka The Falcon in the Marvel films, has criticised Marvel’s hiring process behind the camera. Mackie has stated that in the seven Marvel projects that he has been a part of, the team has been mostly white.
“When The Falcon and the Winter Soldier comes out, I’m the lead. When Snowpiercer comes out, you’re the lead. We have the power and the ability to ask those questions,” Mackie explained actor Daveed Diggs in a recent episode of Variety’s Actors on Actors series. “It really bothered me that I’ve done seven Marvel movies where every producer, every director, every stunt person, every costume designer, every PA, every single person has been white.”
He wondered what the reasoning behind selecting a mostly black crew for Black Panther was. “But then when you do Black Panther, you have a Black director, Black producer, you have a Black costume designer, you have a Black stunt choreographer. And I’m like, that’s more racist than anything else. Because if you only can hire the Black people for the Black movie, are you saying they’re not good enough when you have a mostly white cast?”
Mackie ended by stating Marvel Studios should eventually “hire the best person for the job. Even if it means we’re going to get the best two women, we’re going to get the best two men.”
Marvel is attempting to diversify both in front of and behind the camera on its forthcoming projects. Ryan Coogler will return to write and direct Black Panther 2; Chloe Zhao is directing The Eternals, starring a multiracial cast; Cate Shortland directed Black Widow; Destin Daniel Cretton is directing Shang-Chi, starring a mostly Asian cast, and Deborah Chow is in discussions to direct upcoming projects.
Marvel executive producer Victoria Alonso in a recent Reddit Q&A announced that the studio aims on bringing more diversity to its future slate. “I can tell you we are actively working on making our universe as diverse and inclusive as we can. Be patient with us. We have a lot coming in the future,” she stated.
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