Doctor Strange Co-Writer Clarifies Statements Over ‘The Ancient One’ Whitewashing Controversy

Despite the epic proportions of the recently released DoctorStrange trailer, the film has been receiving flak in the past couple of weeks due to the movie's decision to cast Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One. Since in the comics, the character is male and Asian, many people have branded the casting decision as whitewashing of the character.

Earlier this week, Doctor Strange co-writer C. Robert Cargill addressed the issue during a Double Toasted podcast. He said that the situation is problematic regardless of any casting decision on the Ancient One because Tibet is "in a very weird political place."

Yesterday, Marvel has released an official statement addressing the controversy and there had been no mention of any political issues affecting the casting decision. Some people may have wondered whether Cargill's comments holds any truth. Well, now the Doctor Strange co-writer has clarified his comment saying that during the interview, he was not speaking as Marvel's representative and that in no way, shape, or form did the company discuss China with him.

Cargill clarified his comments via Twitter. Take a look:

To be honest, I actually found Cargill's statements during the podcast quite believable. Also, even if he said Marvel didn't discuss China with him, it doesn't mean the subject hasn't crossed their minds at some point. There could still be some truth to his statements.

It's worth noting though that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said that Marvel is simply trying to diversify its characters.

In any case, I'm just happy that they chose a great character actress like Tilda Swinton to portray the Ancient One. I'm pretty sure she can pull off the role regardless of the character's ethnicity.

Doctor Strange hits theaters on November 4.

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