Kevin Feige Calls "Doctor Strange's" Ancient One "Very Androgynous"

[CBR News]

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige explained how they chose Tilda Swinton for the role and why the character will be "very androgynous" in the film.


Full article here.

[Donald]

And it would have been impossible to write the character without the stereotypes.

"Many people have had" the title Ancient One. Kinda makes them less ancient, doesn't it?

[mugiwara]

If Hollywood did a movie about the Dalai Lama, they'd probably whitewash him too and say it's because and old asian wise man is stereotypical.

[MichaelC]

And it would have been impossible to write the character without the stereotypes.

"Many people have had" the title Ancient One. Kinda makes them less ancient, doesn't it?

It is kind of funny that instead of simply modernizing the details of the character, they just give the role to someone white. And then claim they did it out of sensitivity. *snort*

[Sighphi]

I think this stereotypical thing is an excuse.
Mandarin is half white and his story is about hating the communist government that took over and wanting to take them down.
This is not going to fly in China.
The Ancient One being a Tibetan dude is also not going to fly in China.

This is all just smoke and mirror to get good points from everyone.

[Frontier]

I guess if this is how they see the Ancient One and casting Swinton is part of how they addressed the issues they thought were there, it probably means Wong's completely out, or at least they're going to heavily rework him.

[Huntsman Spider]

Well, it should be no different from her playing Gabriel in the Constantine movie back in 2005.

[Child of the Past]

And it would have been impossible to write the character without the stereotypes.

"Many people have had" the title Ancient One. Kinda makes them less ancient, doesn't it?

Are you getting the words ancient and unique mixed up?

Also I find it odd that when a character is orignally white it's okay to change their race but when a character is orignally non-white it's taboo to change the character. No one seemed to mind when Jerry Hogarth was changed to a woman in Jessica Jones. These double standards are starting to get absurd. Let's judge the film on its quality and not on the race or gender of a fictional character.

[gwangung]

Are you getting the words ancient and unique mixed up?

Also I find it odd that when a character is orignally white it's okay to change their race but when a character is orignally non-white it's taboo to change the character. No one seemed to mind when Jerry Hogarth was changed to a woman in Jessica Jones. These double standards are starting to get absurd. Let's judge the film on its quality and not on the race or gender of a fictional character.

I find it absurd to invoke "double standards" because it totally ignores context. Women STILL don't get a fair break in Hollywood, nor do blacks, Asians and Hispanics. And the quality of the film suffers for that. Talking about "double standards" is downright ignorant because it presupposes a fair playing field---which does not exist. If you are going to get to parity, then it makes NO sense to erase the progress you've made.

YOU'RE getting tired of it? That's downright arrogant when women, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, etc. haven't even gotten up to the plate.

(ETA: For the record, I was agnostic toward the change in The Ancient One, until I learned that Wong is also apparently out of the movie; doing one or the other is tolerable for me, but not both).

[RobinFan4880]

I think this stereotypical thing is an excuse.
Mandarin is half white and his story is about hating the communist government that took over and wanting to take them down.
This is not going to fly in China.
The Ancient One being a Tibetan dude is also not going to fly in China.

This is all just smoke and mirror to get good points from everyone.

China is the next big market and there is no way they are going to upset china.

[Timbales]

There no way to have The Ancient One without offending someone. The 'wise, all knowing Asian man' can be offensive. Not casting the character based on how he has appeared in the comics - as an old Asian man - can be offensive. The best they can hope for is to cause the least amount of offense.

I would have gone the route of having the Ancient One's appearance shift and change, the concept that your perception of the Ancient One is based on your expectations.

[Mister Mets]

It seems the studios are damned if they do, damned if they don't.

If they keep the depiction in the comics, they're going to be criticized for going with problematic stereotypes.
If they go in a different direction, and hire a well-regarded actor whose reputation is better than any of the suggested alternatives, they're whitewashing.

[Strangefan]

TAO is a title now, much like the Sorcerer Supreme. I kind of see it as an evolution of the role, where the SS eventually becomes TAO, setting aside their name, and the former TAO evolves into some sort of spiritual being. Much like Mordo, in the comics TAO is written very one-dimensionally. I am way okay with them both being reinvented to vitalize the characters in the movies.

The studios are damned no matter what direction they go. Be stereotypical, upset various populations or whatever. I just want good actors written in interesting ways.

[Ceebiro]

There no way to have The Ancient One without offending someone. The 'wise, all knowing Asian man' can be offensive. Not casting the character based on how he has appeared in the comics - as an old Asian man - can be offensive. The best they can hope for is to cause the least amount of offense.

I would have gone the route of having the Ancient One's appearance shift and change, the concept that your perception of the Ancient One is based on your expectations.

This would have been the smart bet. Then they could have used all of the rumored castings for the role.

[AriesWarlock]

I don't... what even? Lame reason. Change was not needed. Kevin Feige is the worst president of a studio.