Actor Anthony Mackie, who plays Sam Wilson aka The Falcon in the Marvel movies, has criticised Marvel’s hiring process behind the camera. Mackie has said that in the seven Marvel projects that he has been a part of, the crew has been predominantly white.
“When The Falcon and the Winter Soldier comes out, I’m the lead. When Snowpiercer comes out, you’re the lead. We have the power and the ability to ask those questions,” Mackie told actor Daveed Diggs in a recent episode of Variety’s Actors on Actors series. “It really bothered me that I’ve done seven Marvel movies where every producer, every director, every stunt person, every costume designer, every PA, every single person has been white.”
He wondered what the logic behind hiring a mostly black crew for Black Panther was. “But then when you do Black Panther, you have a Black director, Black producer, you have a Black costume designer, you have a Black stunt choreographer. And I’m like, that’s more racist than anything else. Because if you only can hire the Black people for the Black movie, are you saying they’re not good enough when you have a mostly white cast?”
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{{/usCountry}}Mackie concluded by saying Marvel Studios should ultimately “hire the best person for the job. Even if it means we’re going to get the best two women, we’re going to get the best two men.”
Marvel is trying to diversify both in front of and behind the camera on its future projects. Ryan Coogler will return to write and direct Black Panther 2; Chloe Zhao is directing The Eternals, starring a multiracial cast; Cate Shortland directed Black Widow; Destin Daniel Cretton is directing 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 Q&A said that the studio intends on bringing more diversity to its upcoming slate. “I can tell you we are actively working on making our universe as diverse and inclusive as we can. Be patient with us. We have a lot coming in the future,” she said.
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