Tilda Swinton explains her casting in Doctor Strange

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

There's certainly been some intriguing casting from Marvel Studios and director Scott Derrickson as they put together the pieces to make the Marvel Cinematic Universe a bit more mystical for DOCTOR STRANGE, and each bit has had some degree of bellyaching to go along with it. Couldn't they get anyone less Cumberbatch-y than Benedict Cumberbatch? Since when is Baron Mordo a black guy? Is Tilda Swinton suddenly an Asian man to make this Ancient One match the one from the comics? And while fanboys are quick to write off anything different from what they've always known, there may be reasons within the context of the movie that lay out exactly why those creative choices were made for these particular roles. Granted, it could have simply been because those chosen were the right fit for the DOCTOR STRANGE they wanted to tell… but, at least in the case of Swinton, she has a bit of explanation she's willing to offer up toward the criticism of "whitewashing" that's been lobbed at The Ancient One becoming a white woman for the film. 

In an interview with Edward Douglas at Den of Geek, Swinton reasoned that DOCTOR STRANGE actually addresses why she does appear the way she does… and you're ultimately going to have to wait for the film to be released to get those details. 

The script that I was presented with did not feature an Asian man for me to play, so that was never a question when I was being asked to do it. It all will be revealed when you see the film, I think. There are very great reasons for us to feel very settled and confident with the decisions that were made.

Hmmm… people jumping to conclusions and projecting their own shit on the creative decisions made by those making the movie without ever having seen it in its entirety?? Never heard of that happening before. It must be some sort of new phenomenon we should keep our eyes out for, in case it ever happens again. 

Look… casting an elderly Asian man for a fairly stereotypical elderly Asian man character could have proven problematic. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has too much at stake to go out of its way to offend any ethnic group in order to follow the source material faithfully. And, as we've seen in the past, Marvel's films have been willing to take liberties with various storylines in order to make them work on the big screen. In most cases, it has worked out in their favor, so perhaps before everyone starts jumping on the bandwagon to criticize Marvel for such a casting decision, we wait until we see the final product to see how it comes together. Just once…? Maybe…?

DOCTOR STRANGE arrives in theaters on November 4.