Last night at the world premiere for Doctor Strange in Hollywood, actress Tilda Swinton who plays the Ancient One (a Tibetan man in the comics) weighed in on the controversy surrounding the whitewashing of her role.
They need to see the film to understand why Scott Derrickson and Kevin Feige decided to reimagine the Ancient One as a woman. People shouting loud and proud about needing more diversity in Hollywood cinema have got us right behind them.
You heard her people, keep shouting. But as important as the need for diversity is in Hollywood we have to remind ourselves that it’s also important to cast whomever the right person is in the role, regardless of race. Director Scott Derrickson has already stated that the role of The Ancient One was reimagined with Swinton in the part for the film and that if Swinton did not take the role, the character would have been rewritten from the ground up.
Screencrush also dropped a tidbit from an upcoming interview with Swinton that will come out sooner to the release of Doctor Strange where Swinton expressed her interest in a solo film featuring the mystic mentor and sorcerer.
Swinton:
I’m pretty confidently dropping hints in Kevin Feige’s ear about a prequel, I’m constantly harassing him about that. I don’t know if it’ll get anywhere.
Doctor Strange hits theaters November 4, 2016.
SOURCES: VARIETY, SCREENCRUSH, THR
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