Actor Anthony Mackie, who plays Sam Wilson, also known as The Falcon in Marvel movies, has criticized Marvel’s hiring process behind the camera. Mackie has said that in the seven Marvel projects he’s been part of, the crew has been predominantly white.
“When The Falcon and the Winter Soldier comes out, I am the leader. When Snowpiercer comes out, you are the leader. We have the power and the ability to ask those questions, ”Mackie told actor Daveed Diggs in a recent episode of the Actors in Actors series from Variety. “It really bothered me that I’ve made seven Marvel movies where every producer, every director, every specialist, every costume designer, every personal assistant, every person has been targeted.”
He wondered what was the logic behind hiring a mostly black team for Black Panther. “But then when you do Black Panther, you have a black director, black producer, you have a black costume designer, you have a black choreographer. And I say, that is 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?
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Mackie concluded by saying that Marvel Studios should “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. “
Marvel is trying to diversify both in front of and behind the camera in its future projects. Ryan Coogler will rewrite and direct Black Panther 2; Chloe Zhao directs The Eternals, starring a multi-racial cast; Cate Shortland directed Black Widow; Destin Daniel Cretton directs Shang-Chi, starring a mostly Asian cast, and Deborah Chow is in talks to direct future projects.
Marvel executive producer Victoria Alonso, in a recent Reddit question-and-answer session said the studio intends to bring more diversity to its next roster. “I can tell you that we are actively working to make our universe as diverse and inclusive as possible. Be patient with us. We have a lot to come in the future, “he said.
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