'Doctor Strange' writer blames China for whitewashing

Doctor Strange co-writer C. Robert Cargill has swooped in to address criticism over Tilda Swinton being cast in the upcoming Marvel adaptation as The Ancient One -- who is a male Tibetan mystic in the Doctor Strange comics.

Cargill compares the Ancient One conundrum to Star Trek's "Kobayashi Maru," an intentionally unwinnable combat training exercise that tests the character of prospective starship captains. He contends that The Ancient One's comic book origins are rooted in racist stereotypes, which makes it impossible to avoid controversy when bringing the character to the big screen.

"There is no other character in Marvel history that is such a cultural landmine, that is absolutely unwinnable," Cargill said during an appearance on the Double Toasted podcast (via Screen Rant).

Cargill -- who, it should be noted, wasn't involved casting The Ancient One -- says it's frustrating to see the response to Swinton's casting from people who "haven't thought it all the way through."

"Every single decision that involves the Ancient One is a bad one," he said, "and just like the Kobayashi Maru, it all comes down on which way you’re willing to lose."

Some armchair casting directors that have suggested The Ancient One should be played by a Tibetan or Chinese actress. According to Cargill, though, that would only cause bigger problems -- especially in China, one of the world's largest film markets.

"He originates from Tibet, so if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that he’s Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that’s bullsh*t and risk the Chinese government going, ‘Hey, you know one of the biggest film-watching countries in the world? We’re not going to show your movie because you decided to get political,'" he said.

"If we decide to go the other way and cater to China in particular," he continued, " -- if you think it's a good idea to cast a Chinese actress as a Tibetan character, you are out of your damn fool mind and have no idea what the f*ck you're talking about."

On the one hand, Hollywood's reprehensible tendency to whitewash non-white roles is getting increasingly tiresome. But on the other, Marvel proved with Iron Man 3's Mandarin -- a Chinese descendant of Genghis Khan in the comics, played by Ben Kingsley in the movie -- that there are clever ways to write around problematic characters.

Marvel Studios has since responded to the uproar around Swinton's casting with a statement given to Mashable.

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