Netflix is in hot water after ‘white washing’ the cast of the upcoming Marvel series Iron Fist.
Netflix has announced their plans for a new Marvel series. This time around, Marvel will be recreating the comic book character “Iron Fist” for the Netflix streaming platform. However, many people are upset about the latest casting decision.
According to reports, Marvel has cast Game of Thrones star Finn Jones as the series lead. Finn Jones is white and according to the comic books, Iron Fist was Asian-American. That “white-washing” decision has pissed off both fans of the comic book series, as well as a prominent Marvel comic-book writer.
Marjorie Liu, a comic book writer for Marvel, calls the casting decision an “orientalist-white-man-yellow-fever narrative” Liu adds, “Asian actor would have helped subvert that offensive trope, and reclaim space.”
“Let me be blunt: I won’t watch Iron Fist if they cast a white dude. I can’t do it anymore. I’ve reached my limit. Peace out.”
Iron Fist is an orientalist-white-man-yellow-fever narrative. Asian actor would have helped subvert that offensive trope, and reclaim space.
— Marjorie Liu (@marjoriemliu) February 25, 2016
Marjorie Liu wrote Dark Wolverine and X-23 titles for Marvel. She also retweeted sentiments from others disappointed in the casting news.
Many people took to twitter to share their feelings about the casting decision.
I could explain, again, why I think not casting an Asian Iron Fist is a mistake, but I’ll let John Oliver do it: https://t.co/XZ7rtVxKp8
— Marc Bernardin (@marcbernardin) February 25, 2016
There is a HUGE uproar because Marvel didn’t cast a person of Asian decent to play the historically Caucasian character of Iron Fist.
— Ross Dillon! (@HypnoRoss) February 25, 2016
The responses to those talking about the Iron Fist casting shows how little people care to understand the AAPI experience.
— Jon Tsuei (@jontsuei) February 25, 2016
Fans have even started a petition calling for Marvel to cast an Asian actor to play ‘Iron Fist’. The author of the petition writes:
Since Marvel and Netflix’s slate of superhero series are supposed to inhabit the same world as the billion-dollar grossing Avengers, Iron Fist gives Marvel Studios a chance to add even more diversity to its interconnected cinematic universe. Despite what opponents say about changing characters’ racial identities, this is a case in which changing Iron Fist’s race has the potential to add depth and layers to an already beloved comic book icon. Moreover, a non-white Iron Fist can also help remove some of the character’s more problematic elements such as Orientalism and cultural appropriation.
This news comes after a new study illustrated that movies and TV shows with a diverse cast earn more money than movies featuring a predominately white cast.
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