Tilda Swinton Cast as The Ancient One

[Dr. Evil]

I think that if Tilda Swinton is confirmed as the Ancient One, they'll change the orgin story of TAO to that of a Midevil Sorceress.

 

[Taarna]

Why would the ability of common-born women to achieve public success circa 1000 AD have anything to do with their ability to achieve success in the mystical world? For that matter, where does it say the Ancient One was born common, or has to have been born common?

The ancient one was born a common farmer in a village. His friend Kaalu ( a male ) shared his discovery of magic with him 500 years ago.

Would a man who found power 500 years ago in Asia share it with a common woman? I doubt it.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

A proper "enlightened" being shouldn't be concerned with the gender of a potential successor.

Anyway casting Swinton I'm expecting something a little more thoughtful and cosmic than magic Asians. I'm cool if they dump the Eastern emphasis entirely or partially*.

*I say partially because I'm half expecting them to tie Strange into Iron Fist/K'un L'un somehow.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Again, Tilda Swinton as Ancient One = a Sorceress from the Middle Ages.

Unless of course they want to go back even further and make her a sorceress from either Greek or Roman times.

Is that hard to comprehend?

 

[Keyser Soze]

Why mess with the built in fan base and history of the comics?

The Ancient one is very old. In his time, how many women born common achieved success at anything in Asia?

Cumberbatch has a powerful voice and screen presence. Casting his teacher demands someone on his level with decades of experience. Remember the Ancient one is very old. Not 50!

Star Wars is not making Yoda or Darth Vader a woman any time soon. If the Karate kid was re-made, Mr. Miyagi would be an asian man. But Marvel movies for whatever reasons have to mess with race, and gender.

Create new characters, but please not not mess with the established ones.

The counterpoint to this would be that Tilda Swinton is one of the very few actors of any age or gender who I can imagine having the gravitas to present themselves as Benedict Cumberbatch's superior and mentor.

 

[Taarna]

Again, Tilda Swinton as Ancient One = a Sorceress from the Middle Ages.

Unless of course they want to go back even further and make her a sorceress from either Greek or Roman times.

Is that hard to comprehend?

No, but it is a bit of a betrayal for fans of the ancient one. The movie may be good, but its already gone off script from the book!

If this were Star Wars, it would be like making Yoda a female.

 

[Keyser Soze]

It's also worth pointing out that, as unfair as I may think the criticisms might be, Daredevil got attacked quite a bit in certain quarters for playing into "magic Asian" stereotypes with Madame Gao in Daredevil. If they are also going to be exploring K'un-Lun in Iron Fist, I can understand their reluctance in wanting to have every magical figure be a wise Asian. And especially if the character of Wong is also present, then it could be seen as turning Doctor Strange into one of those "white savior" narratives people find problematic these days.

Also, as others have suggested, the more straightforward argument is that if Tilda Swinton wants to be in your movie, you put her in your movie. She could be Doctor Strange if she wanted, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Son of Coul]

^ Agreed with the above.

The Yoda comparison doesn't quite work, since there's an established continuity in those movies that'd be jarring to break. That's more comparable to making Sam Wilson female or something out of nowhere in the MCU.

However, if they totally remade Star Wars from the ground up (and right after this analogy, let's perish the thought) I honestly wouldn't care if they switched Yoda's gender if they were getting a really great actress to play the role (like say... Tilda Swinton).

 

[RockSP]

No, but it is a bit of a betrayal for fans of the ancient one. The movie may be good, but its already gone off script from the book!

If this were Star Wars, it would be like making Yoda a female.

Because the mcu is hardcore about following comic book continuity...

 

[Dr. Evil]

No, but it is a bit of a betrayal for fans of the ancient one. The movie may be good, but its already gone off script from the book!

If this were Star Wars, it would be like making Yoda a female.

As a non comic book fan, I don't care that the Ancient One's gender was changed. While I would have loved to see more Asians in the MCU, I'll take what I can get with Melinda May and Skye on Agents of SHIELD. Besides, Wong will be in this.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

It's also worth pointing out that, as unfair as I may think the criticisms might be, Daredevil got attacked quite a bit in certain quarters for playing into "magic Asian" stereotypes with Madame Gao in Daredevil. If they are also going to be exploring K'un-Lun in Iron Fist, I can understand their reluctance in wanting to have every magical figure be a wise Asian. And especially if the character of Wong is also present, then it could be seen as turning Doctor Strange into one of those "white savior" narratives people find problematic these days.

Also, as others have suggested, the more straightforward argument is that if Tilda Swinton wants to be in your movie, you put her in your movie. She could be Doctor Strange if she wanted, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[metaphysician]

Since when has Yoda had an established gender?

 

[BoredGuy]

yeah I agree with most of y'all, tilda's awesome and will do a great job

besides, not like there's a huge throng of "Ancient One" fans who will scream about it
hell, most people were okay with Kingsley as Mandarin (until they found out about the twist, that is) and 'Mandy' has a much bigger following

 

[Taarna]

Since when has Yoda had an established gender?

Wookieepedia states that Yoda is male. He dresses, and sounds like a male as well.

 

[Taarna]

As a non comic book fan, I don't care that the Ancient One's gender was changed. While I would have loved to see more Asians in the MCU, I'll take what I can get with Melinda May and Skye on Agents of SHIELD. Besides, Wong will be in this.

Wong will be the " token " Asian in the movie. The good doctor became who he was in Asia under the training of an Asian man known as the Ancient one. This has been taken away. A pity.

It won't hurt the movie overall as Doctor Strange was never as popular as other characters.

When's the last time you saw a Hollywood flick with an Asian actor in the lead role or in a significant best supporting role that was not a martial arts film? Think about that for a moment.

The Ancient one, if properly cast could have been the answer to the above question.

 

[RockSP]

yeah I agree with most of y'all, tilda's awesome and will do a great job

besides, not like there's a huge throng of "Ancient One" fans who will scream about it
hell, most people were okay with Kingsley as Mandarin (until they found out about the twist, that is) and 'Mandy' has a much bigger following

Didn't stop people from mitching and boaning about Heimdall.

 

[coluanprime]

As great as Tilda Swanton is, I'm going to be really pissed if they whitewash the character. Hollywood (and Marvel)'s record on diversity sucks.

 

[BarryAllen]

As great as Tilda Swanton is, I'm going to be really pissed if they whitewash the character. Hollywood (and Marvel)'s record on diversity sucks.

Especially when it comes to Asians. I'm Indian American, and I have no representation outside of that one guy who was in the World Security Council and the Indians Banner was with at the beginning of the Avengers. And all the Indian characters from the comics are like Z-listers.

 

[99ranch]

I wasn't so pissed when they whitewashed the ..oh wait.

 

[metaphysician]

Especially when it comes to Asians. I'm Indian American, and I have no representation outside of that one guy who was in the World Security Council and the Indians Banner was with at the beginning of the Avengers. And all the Indian characters from the comics are like Z-listers.

One might think those two facts, unfortunate though they might be, perhaps have something to do with one another. . .

 

[aNarcHy2day]

Especially when it comes to Asians. I'm Indian American, and I have no representation outside of that one guy who was in the World Security Council and the Indians Banner was with at the beginning of the Avengers. And all the Indian characters from the comics are like Z-listers.

I'm Indian and I sort of share the emotion. The only character I can remember of the top of my head that is somewhat important to the overall mythology of the main hero is David Singh from The Flash.

 

[Mister J]

Tilda Swinton Explains Why She’s “Really, Really, Really Excited” to Star in Marvel’s ‘Doctor Strange’

Is your Doctor Strange deal done, or are you still in talks with Marvel?

No no no, it’s done. We’re so far in talks that we’re not talking any more [laughs]. It’s done. The conversation has been had.

What was it specifically about Doctor Strange that intrigued you?

Well, there’s no particular interest in getting into something bigger, or even smaller, I just really liked the premise of this and the idea of playing this character. I’m a Marvel fan and I think this particular world that Doctor Strange goes into is really, really, really exciting. I’m really interested as both an actor and a fan to see what’s done in this particular world. It’s all about creativity. It’s not about everything exploding at the end. It’s about something very different. The idea of playing The Ancient One is really just too tickling. I can’t say no to that!

 

[Suzanne78]

It's also worth pointing out that, as unfair as I may think the criticisms might be, Daredevil got attacked quite a bit in certain quarters for playing into "magic Asian" stereotypes with Madame Gao in Daredevil. If they are also going to be exploring K'un-Lun in Iron Fist, I can understand their reluctance in wanting to have every magical figure be a wise Asian. And especially if the character of Wong is also present, then it could be seen as turning Doctor Strange into one of those "white savior" narratives people find problematic these days.

Also, as others have suggested, the more straightforward argument is that if Tilda Swinton wants to be in your movie, you put her in your movie. She could be Doctor Strange if she wanted, as far as I'm concerned.

^ Agreed with the above.

The Yoda comparison doesn't quite work, since there's an established continuity in those movies that'd be jarring to break. That's more comparable to making Sam Wilson female or something out of nowhere in the MCU.

However, if they totally remade Star Wars from the ground up (and right after this analogy, let's perish the thought) I honestly wouldn't care if they switched Yoda's gender if they were getting a really great actress to play the role (like say... Tilda Swinton).

That is to say... I agree with all of the above.

 

[TheCardPlayer]

So happy that she's confirmed. Oh God, what a cast. Can't wait to see who Dormammu is.

 

[Owl]

So happy that she's confirmed. Oh God, what a cast. Can't wait to see who Dormammu is.

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Daniel Day Lewis is Dormammu. As for Tilda, I'm so happy that there is so much optimism with this project.