In the recent trailers for Marvel’s Doctor Strange film, it was revealed that the character known as the Ancient One will be played by English-born actress Tilda Swinton. Many movie fans will be excited to see this established, albeit androgynous, actress starring alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in the next blockbuster comic epic. Comic fans, on the other hand, have already begun complaining about the casting choice. Cumberbatch’s casting may have garnered its own slew of love-him-or-hate-him discussion, but Swinton’s casting received attention for the wrong reasons.

In the mythos of the Doctor Strange comics, Stephen Strange was a wealthy and successful surgeon, becoming increasingly arrogant and greedy as he grew more skillful in his medical practice. One fateful day, he was involved in a horrific car accident that severely damaged the nerves in his hands and rendered them nearly useless. Desperate to regain his status as a top surgeon and pay off his mounting bills, he sought a Tibetan mystic only known as “The Ancient One” in hopes of magical healing. What he got instead was a magical teacher who began Doctor Strange’s training as the next “Sorcerer Supreme.”

Now that we have a little backstory, let’s discuss the uproar. You see, The Ancient One has predominantly been depicted as a small, frail Tibetan man; a distinct opposite of what Tilda Swinton is. Initial backlash was met by Marvel Studios where they explained the casting of Swinton was meant to distance itself from the film ‘Batman Begins‘ in which the titular hero is trained by an Asian guru. As very likely that this could be the main reason, it is widely known that most films made today try to appeal to a foreign market as well, and that is where things get interesting. What many Americans don’t understand is that there are many prejudices pertaining to Tibet and Tibetan people, especially in China. The Chinese film market is extremely important to box office receipts, so recasting a Tibetan character as something safer is a good way to prevent alienating a huge chunk of your fans. While many of us may roll our eyes to such things, it is a very risky move for Marvel Studios to keep the ethnicity in-tact, especially since the original character was a bit of a racist stereotype. We will have to wait to see this November how it all turns out when Doctor Strange shows us the magical side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe!

What do you think? Are you excited for the movie? Do you think it will be Marvel’s first big flop in the MCU? Comment with your opinion and come back for more Nerd News!

Comments