7 Times Hollywood Whitewashed (And Straightwashed) Comic Book Characters

7. The Ancient One: Whitewashed

The Ancient One
Marvel Studios

The most famous and indeed recent instance of whitewashing did, of course, come with 2016's Doctor Strange. British actress Tilda Swinton was cast in the role, who in the comics was originally a Tibetan Monk.

Granted, the original depiction of the character in the OG Strange series has faced its own fair share of criticism, but Marvel's decision to erase the character's Tibetan heritage felt calculated, and even cynical, with Robert Cargill in particular having surmised that the effort to change the character of the Ancient One came from the fear that China - itself having suppressed Tibet for decades - would ban the film from being screened.

It's no excuse, whichever way you look at it, especially in light of Marvel's other, more recent controversies...

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Content Producer/Presenter
Content Producer/Presenter

Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.