MCU: 10 Fascinating Facts Behind Doctor Strange (2016)

The character of the Ancient One presented an interesting and slightly controversial challenge for the filmmakers.

On the one hand, the Ancient One was a quintessential character in the comics who was a core part of the Doctor Strange mythology. On the other hand, he was a vaguely racist characterization of Tibetan monks that required some retooling. Derrickson’s original idea was to cast an Asian woman, so as to go bypass the issue altogether but found himself worried that this would lead to a “fanboy’s dream girl” fetishistic kind of situation.

So, to avoid all of this, he came up with a simple solution: Tilda Swinton. He set about rewriting the role specifically for Swinton, who jumped at the chance to play a strong female character in a traditionally male role. The results speak for themselves, as Tilda did a phenomenal job with the role. So much so that rumors seem to indicate a return of sorts for her in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame.