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In 2021, Kevin Feige retracted his statement supporting the casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One inDoctor Strange. The character is a Tibetan-born old man in the comics, but the casting of Swinton was criticized as another instance of cultural appropriation of Asian characters. While Feige defended the idea during the film’s production and release, he expressed his regret over the casting decision a few years later.
Feige admitted that the film could’ve taken another direction with the character that remained true to the Asian origin of the character. Despite the criticisms of her casting in the film, Swinton did complete justice to the character and was one of the best performers in the film.
Kevin Feige Regretted His Casting Decision Of The Ancient One InDoctor Strange
Ahead of the release ofSimu Liu‘sShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsin 2021, Marvel PresidentKevin Feigeadmitted that Marvel made a mistake in one of its best films. In the 2016 film,Doctor Strange, the casting ofTilda Swintonas the Ancient One was protested by many as cultural appropriation of Asian characters. Feige defended the idea at the time, only to regret it five years later during the release of the first Marvel film with an Asian superhero lead.
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Feige told Men’s Health magazine that he believed at the time the casting decision of Swinton was“smart and so cutting edge”. He revealed that his intention was to break the old wise Asian man cliché, but ended up making another mistake. He admitted that there should’ve been a way to both cast an Asian actor and not fall into the stereotype. Feige shared withMen’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.
During the making ofBenedict Cumberbatch‘s film, Feige told EW that Marvel was always looking for ways to make big changes. He shared the instance when they changed Jarvis from a butler in the comics to an AI system in the movies. He felt that an older Asian male as the Ancient One was a stereotype in the storyline and wanted to work something else.
The filmmakers found out that the title of the Ancient One was held by many in the comics. It was at this point that Marvel had the idea to cast a woman in the role and theyended up casting Tilda Swinton, a White actress, in the role. Feige shared withEW:
Within the storyline of the comics, and our movie, ‘the Ancient One’ is a title that many people have had. We hit very early on on, What if the Ancient One was a woman? What if the title had been passed and the current Ancient One is a woman? Oh, that’s an interesting idea. [Clicks fingers.] Tilda Swinton! Whoah! And it just hit.
While directorScott Derricksondefended the casting as an attempt to avoid racist Asian stereotypes, he alsoaddressed the uproar against the film. In a tweet, Derrickson shared that he understood the“raw anger/hurt”from the Asian-American community over the“whitewashing”and added that he was“listening and learning”(via Variety).
Marvel Defended The Casting Saying That The Ancient One Is Celtic
At the time of the film’s release, Marvel shared in a statement to Mashable that it had a strong record of diversity in casting and regularly departed from stereotypes. The studio shared that the Ancient One title was not held by any one character and the embodiment in the film, played by Tilda Swinton, was Celtic, not Asian. Marvel shared in their statement (via Vulture):
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.
During her appearance at a screening of her movieA Big Splash, Swinton also weighed in on the controversy surrounding her character. She toldTHRthat her character was not definitely Asian in the movie. She shared:
Well, it’s not actually an Asian character — that’s what I need to tell you about it. I wasn’t asked to play an Asian character, you can be very well assured of that.
Doctor Strangegrossed $677.8 million worldwide with positive critical reviews all over (via Box Office Mojo). The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects. It is now available for streaming on Disney+.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
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Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
