Anthony Mackie, star of the upcoming Disney Plus television series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” said in a recent interview that Marvel movies need more diversity off-screen, adding that he believed it was “racist” than “Black Panther” is the only installment in the superhero franchise with a predominantly black production team.
“It really bothered me that I made seven Marvel movies where each producer, each director, each specialist, each costume designer, each [production assistant], every person has been white, “Mackie said in a virtual conversation with” Hamilton “actor Daveed Diggs for Variety’s” Actor Actors “.
“We had a black producer; his name was Nate Moore,” said Mackie. “He produced ‘Black Panther’. But when you do ‘Black Panther’, you have a black director, a black producer, a black costume designer, a black stunt choreographer. I think it’s more racist than anything else.
“Because if you can only hire blacks for the black movie, are you saying they aren’t good enough when you have a mostly white cast?”
Mackie made the comment as Hollywood acknowledges issues of diversity, inclusion, and representation amid nationwide protests of systemic racism. I was answering a question from Diggs about how I was responding to this historic “moment”.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe encompasses 23 released films, but only two, Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Ragnarok” and Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther,” were directed by non-white filmmakers.
However, the franchise has aligned more diverse leadership talents for some of its upcoming projects. Chinese filmmaker Chloé Zhao (“The Rider”) will direct “The Eternals”. Destin Daniel Cretton (“Just Mercy”), of Japanese descent, will direct “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
In the Variety interview, Mackie explained the hiring changes he would like to see and the responsibility he believes he has as a leader.
“My big drive with Marvel is to hire the best person for the job. Even if that means we are going to get the best two women, we are going to get the best two men. Penalty fee. I agree with those numbers for the next 10 years.
“Because it begins to build a new generation of people who can put something on their resume to get other jobs. If we have to divide as a percentage, divide it. That is something as leading men we can get into” and push, “added Mackie.
Disney, which owns Marvel Entertainment and distributes content set out in the so-called MCU, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mackie, 41, made her MCU debut in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” He plays Falcon, also known as Sam Wilson, who inherits the cloak of Captain America at the end of “Avengers: Endgame”. He will reprise the role in the television series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”, alongside actor Sebastian Stan.
The actor’s credits also include “8 Mile,” Clint Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby” and the Oscar-winning war drama “The Hurt Locker.”
