What happen if Jean Grey was potrayed by a black woman ?

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I'm cool with changing the roster to be more inclusive.

[Devaishwarya]

I'm not so hung up on "race and representation" as most other readers/film watchers but...when it comes to superhero movies that tell stories of pre and long-established characters...I would prefer the writers and directors stick to the original imagery. *
If Jean Grey is cast as Black then in my eyes/imo...that's not Jean Grey. Because Jean Grey isn't a Black Woman (unless it's some alternate universe story played as 616 Universe, at which point I won't care at all and I won't pay to see).

* I hated The Ancient One wasn't an Old Asian Man in Dr. Strange but Tilda is one of my absolute favourite actors EVER! so I wasn't too put out by her playing the role.

[skyvolt2000]

Red hair isn't a race. There are red heads of all races.

The complaint would be why is yet another WHITE RED HEAD becoming a black person.

Go talk to the Wally West fans about that.

[jwatson]

So then based on what I'm reading the only solution seems to be leave out characters just because they are white so a more diverse movie can be made. But then the so called canon that is suppose to exist wouldn't exist anyway because that wouldn't be the team as originally presented in the material. Thereby that simplifies the argument to story vs. race and which is more important. The idea that jean has to be white only works if the story was being directly adapted fr the pages otherwise it's not your fave comic anyway.

[wickedblender]

we'd finally get somebody who looked good in a red wig.

[jwatson]

The complaint would be why is yet another WHITE RED HEAD becoming a black person.

Go talk to the Wally West fans about that.

Far more valid a question. Though I would ask why all all redheads in movies white.

[jwatson]

I do wonder who people would leave on the cutting room floor. If your told you can create a team of xmen but it has to be a diverse movie so no more than two characters per race. Well if we go by this if you need a male and female you are prob going for Jean and Wolverine on the caucasian side, from there if your going for popular it gets pretty easy when you get to people of other races.

[staptik777]

[ChronoRogue]

So then based on what I'm reading the only solution seems to be leave out characters just because they are white so a more diverse movie can be made. But then the so called canon that is suppose to exist wouldn't exist anyway because that wouldn't be the team as originally presented in the material. Thereby that simplifies the argument to story vs. race and which is more important. The idea that jean has to be white only works if the story was being directly adapted fr the pages otherwise it's not your fave comic anyway.

Err... no, the 05 were a flop and got the book cancelled. Sure they recycled the concepts, but it was ANAD/Outback team that essentially rebuilt the franchise and kept it alive.

Besides as others have pointed out, it does not service to actual black characters to race bend. They are still going to be white in the comics. Might as well elevate established POC and/or use a different team.

[TheDeadSpace]

So then based on what I'm reading the only solution seems to be leave out characters just because they are white so a more diverse movie can be made. But then the so called canon that is suppose to exist wouldn't exist anyway because that wouldn't be the team as originally presented in the material. Thereby that simplifies the argument to story vs. race and which is more important. The idea that jean has to be white only works if the story was being directly adapted fr the pages otherwise it's not your fave comic anyway.

I'm not sure that's the only solution to come up with. If you have to leave out characters because they are white, that itself is a problem. The ANAD team is fine. A variation would also be okay. I'm not sure a strict checklist would be needed. Also there's room for more than one movie and tv show. There's room for everyone if done right. Characters just shouldn't be changed just because that's an easy way to show diversity. Sometimes the easiest/cheapest solution, is the least rewarding. I'm not sure Marvel should be encouraged to put very little effort in increasing diversity.

Why are aliens included?

[Thievery]

Err... no, the 05 were a flop and got the book cancelled. Sure they recycled the concepts, but it was ANAD/Outback team that essentially rebuilt the franchise and kept it alive.

Besides as others have pointed out, it does not service to actual black characters to race bend. They are still going to be white in the comics. Might as well elevate established POC and/or use a different team.

Not exactly true. The last issues of the O5 went up in sales, and actually outsold the first issues of the ANAD team. Largely because Neal Adams was on art on the O5 at a time when artists could still boost sales being the artist on a comic alone, and the stories got better. If sales information was as available as quickly back then as it is now, the O5 may not have even been canceled.

The ANAD different team didn't take off right away. Even Wolverine wasnt as popular at the start of ANAD as he is now. I've seen articles that talk about that time period that say that Wolverine was actively disliked at the start of ANAD. The ANAD team didn't really take off in terms of sales until the end of the Dark Phoenix Saga. They were even still a bi-monthly comic for a year or two after Dark Phoenix.

EDIT: I should point out that I dont watch comic book movies or TV shows. But even if I did I wouldn't mind if Jean was portrayed by a black woman. The only time that I get upset is when MU or X-Men movies make large changes to what is cannon just so the comics can be more like the movies or TV shows.

[davetvs]

I wouldn't really care, the MCU is an AU so they can do whatever they want. If they do change Jean's race I hope she at least still gets to have red hair unlike Zendaya as MJ.

[Havok83]

Err... no, the 05 were a flop and got the book cancelled. Sure they recycled the concepts, but it was ANAD/Outback team that essentially rebuilt the franchise and kept it alive.

Besides as others have pointed out, it does not service to actual black characters to race bend. They are still going to be white in the comics. Might as well elevate established POC and/or use a different team.

You do realize that with the exception of storm, everyone on the Outback team was white. Even with the ANAD team, as soon as Claremont took over, he got rid of the racial minorities (Thunderbird, Sunfire) and Storm was alone in a sea of Caucasians until Forge joined over 15 years later. Claremont's Uncanny X-men wasnt as diverse as people seem to think it was

[Devaishwarya]

If you want a diverse cast just choose/create one. There are enough diverse characters from which to choose to tell a reasonably straightforward story/adaptation. (An' tuh besides, we've gotten enough of the O5 and Wolverine to last us forever...there are other more interesting story arcs that can adapted.)

[PhoenixThanos]

Far more valid a question. Though I would ask why all all redheads in movies white.

Hahaha have you seen a black red head ?