Within the last few months, four huge film/television properties have raised the question of Asian representation in Hollywood: The Great Wall, Doctor Strange, Ghost in the Shell, and Iron Fist.

Matt Damon being cast as the lead in The Great Wall was highly criticised by some as having a white saviour narrative; Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One in Marvel’s Doctor Strange proved controversial as the character is Tibetan in the comics; Scarlett Johansson as The Major caused large issues with fans due to the manga’s Japanese roots.

Netflix and Marvel’s series Iron Fist has caused controversy as many fans believed the character - who is a white American in the comics - should have been an Asian character. British actor Finn Jones ended up taking the role and has been defending his decision ever since.

Hollywood whitewashing controversies Show all 11 1 /11 Hollywood whitewashing controversies Hollywood whitewashing controversies Scarlett Johansson cast as Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell Blonde, white US actress Scarlett Johansson was announced to be playing the clearly Japanese character Motoko Kusanagi in Hollywood's Ghost in the Shell remake, much to the dismay of Asian film fans Hollywood whitewashing controversies Tilda Swinton cast as The Ancient One in Doctor Strange Marvel sparked outrage when Anglo-Scottish actress Tilda Swinton was cast as Tibetan mystic The Ancient One alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange Hollywood whitewashing controversies Zoe Saldana was criticised for 'blacking up' to play the considerably darker-skinned soul singer Nina Simone in Nina AP Hollywood whitewashing controversies Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Prince of Persia The half Jewish, quarter Swedish actor was cast to play a Middle Eastern Prince in Disney's 2010 film Hollywood whitewashing controversies Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily in forthcoming film Pan Mara was been cast in the role of American Indian Tiger Lily, sparking an online protest from angry film fans Warner Bros Hollywood whitewashing controversies Christian Bale plays Moses in Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings Ridley Scott claimed he would never cast 'Mohammed so-and-so from such-and-such a country' in a lead role in his Biblical epic, and went on to cast an entirely white cast instead Hollywood whitewashing controversies Jim Caveziel plays Jesus in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ Catholic star Mel Gibson chose to cast a Caucasian American actor in the role of Jesus for his controversial film AP Hollywood whitewashing controversies Micky Rooney plays a Japanese neighbour in Breakfast at Tiffany's Who better to play Holly Golightly's Japanese neighbour IY Yunoishi than American actor Mick Rooney. At least Hollywood has come some way since 1961 YouTube Hollywood whitewashing controversies Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in Argo Ben Affleck became the subject of a few editorials in Latin American newspapers for casting himself (an American with English, Irish, Scottish and Swiss ancestry) as a Mexican CIA operative Hollywood whitewashing controversies Jennifer Connelly plays Alicia Nash in A Beautiful Mind Alicia Lopez-Harrison de Lardé was a naturalised US citizen from El Salvador, but was played by an actress of Jewish, Irish and Norwegian descent YouTube Hollywood whitewashing controversies Chinese actresses cast in Memoirs of a Geisha What better way to alienate Japanese cinemagoers than to cast three Chinese actresses in the lead roles in a film about Japanese culture REUTERS

Marvel comic artist Kris Anka - best known for working on various X-Men series and re-designing Spider-Woman - has ‘redesigned’ Iron Fist as an Asian superhero, inspiring numerous other people to draw their own versions of Danny Rand.