Which other black actors would you like to join the movie?

[Dark Raven]

After seeing her in Creed, I would be up for Phylicia Rashad as T'Challa's stepmom.

And Debbie Allen for T'Challa's dance teacher!

Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen are sisters.

 

[p4poetic]

After seeing her in Creed, I would be up for Phylicia Rashad as T'Challa's stepmom.

I like Rashad but both her and Bassett being cast as somebody's mother has gotten redundant.

 

[Chesterfield]

Which is why I'm leaning more towards Lynn Whitfield.

 

[Doctor Octopus]

Danny Glover.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I'm still hoping for a Redford like role for Sidney Poitier.

 

[Chesterfield]

I've mentioned her before and I really think she's more than suitable for a role in the black panther franchise either as Monica Lynn, a Dora Milaje or another character but I really want to see Janelle Monae cast. She's starring in 2 movies that so far seem to be garnering critical acclaim, Moonlight and hidden figures.

 

[nephron]

Which other black actors would you like to join the movie?

?

What about diversity?

Isn't diversity the Most Important Thing Ever?

If Thor movies need black people and asians why is it ok for the Black Panther movie to have an all-black cast?

Let's think back to the arguments about black Heimdall:

"A black Heimdal? But they're viking gods! This is dumb!"

"You vile racist! Diversity is the Most Important Thing Ever and Asgard is fictional anyway!"

So let's hear it. I'm very curious to hear why diversity in Asgard is important but not in Wakanda. I want to know why it's not ok that Wakanda should be as racially diverse as Asgard.

 

[Dr. Evil]

?

What about diversity?

Isn't diversity the Most Important Thing Ever?

If Thor movies need black people and asians why is it ok for the Black Panther movie to have an all-black cast?

Let's think back to the arguments about black Heimdall:

"A black Heimdal? But they're viking gods! This is dumb!"

"You vile racist! Diversity is the Most Important Thing Ever and Asgard is fictional anyway!"

So let's hear it. I'm very curious to hear why diversity in Asgard is important but not in Wakanda. I want to know why it's not ok that Wakanda should be as racially diverse as Asgard.

Umm...because Wakanda is in Africa?

 

[nephron]

Umm...because Wakanda is in Africa?

So what?

For one, Wakanda is a fictional fantasy land.

(note: this is the exact same argument about why it's ok for Asgard to be racially diverse)

Second, even in real Africa, there's plenty of non-black Africans.

There's a big double-standard with this movie.

Why does Asgard need to be racially diverse but Wakanda doesn't?

Either Diversity is important or it isn't. So which is it...is Diversity important or not?

 

[Dr. Evil]

In Wakanda's history, it was never colonized by any of the European Powers so it had no need for a diverse population.

 

[nephron]

In Wakanda's history, it was never colonized by any of the European Powers so it had no need for a diverse population.

It's 2017.

Either Diversity is important or it's not. Is Diversity important or isn't it? There was no need to rewrite Johnny Storm's character to make him black, but...Diversity Matters.

Wakanda is a fictional country and Diversity Matters...right? Are you saying Diversity doesn't matter?

 

[Dr. Evil]

It's 2017.

Either Diversity is important or it's not. Is Diversity important or isn't it? There was no need to rewrite Johnny Storm's character to make him black, but...Diversity Matters.

Wakanda is a fictional country and Diversity Matters...right? Are you saying Diversity doesn't matter?

It does matter, it was one of the issues I had with the MCU after the first Avengers movie came out. I am sure that the black posters know more about this than I do.

As an Asian American, I was thrilled to see Wong on Dr. Strange and I look forward to seeing Colleen Wing.

As diverse as the casts for the film was, I have black friends who are also big comic book fans and while they liked the movies for the most part, they weren't happy that none of the black characters were leads. They wanted a superhero movie with a black cast but could also fit in the MCU.

Plus, the BP film expands the number of African American women in the MCU. I mean, Zoe Saldana, Rosario Dawson, Simone Missick and Alfrie Woodard? Only four and one of them is playing an alien.

Besides, Luke Cage has a largely black cast of Mike Colter, Dawson, Missick, Woodard and well as Mahershala Ali, Frankie Faison and Erik LaRay Harvey....all black. The only non-black folks were Frank Whaley and Theo Rossi.

My black friends were tired of "all black films" being Tyler Perry films, slavery films or hip hop films. They wanted that term to represent other genres including sci-fi, superhero and animation, much in the same way films with largely white or Asian casts have had.

As an Asian American, I am happy with the diverse genres of films we've had, from dramas like the Joy Luck Club and Better Luck Tomorrow to war films like Letters from Iwo Jima and The Killing Fields to all of the Hong Kong films starring Jackie Chan or Jet Li or Donnie Yen. Hell, Asian Americans even had their own musical movie in Flower Drum Song.

my black friends are very excited for this movie and very excited that it has an all black cast. For them, this movie means "all black cast" no longer means Tyler Perry films, slavery movies and hip hop films.

 

[nephron]

...very excited that it has an all black cast.

That doesn't sound diverse to me.

It's fine that the Black Panther is a black guy, that makes sense. But the supporting characters need to be diverse.

It's 2017!

Diversity Matters!

Shouldn't the supporting cast include a white person, an asian, a latino, and an LGBTQ representative?

If there's Black and Asians in Asgard, there can be white, Asian, and Latino Wakandans.

It's 2017.

Diversity Matters.

 

[Dr. Evil]

That doesn't sound diverse to me.

It's fine that the Black Panther is a black guy, that makes sense. But the supporting characters need to be diverse.

It's 2017!

Diversity Matters!

Shouldn't the supporting cast include a white person, an asian, a latino, and an LGBTQ representative?

If there's Black and Asians in Asgard, there can be white, Asian, and Latino Wakandans.

It's 2017.

Diversity Matters.

Of course it does, but I think you need to ask this question to someone like OnTheAir. The guy is a big Black Panther fan and is black. See what he has to say.

 

[Chesterfield]

This film WILL have white actors and Asian actors in it. There was a casting call that required Koreans a few months back, the film will also have scenes set in the US and will feature the US government/CIA. There's your diversity. That being said, there are no white people living in Wakanda. Trying to compare Asgard to Wakanda is absolutely absurd. Wakanda as fictionalised as it is still has its essence when it comes to its populace rooted in reality. Have you been to Subsahara Africa before? Do you know the history of South Africa? Hell do you know the history of Africa as a whole and the invasions it suffered? If you did, you wouldn't need to ask this question that is clearly shrouded in ignorance and I dare say trying to bait and trigger people here.

MCU Asgard on the other hand is loosely based on Norse mythology and its inhabitants there are very much in fact interdimensional alien beings.They can be what ever race they choose and furthermore, if you bothered to read the comics, you'd know that not all Asgardians are white.

As for it being 2017, so what? The point of Wakanda is that it was never ever invaded, conquered nor pillaged by outsiders like the rest of Africa has fallen victim to. Wakanda is a country that isolates itself from the outside world and don't take too kindly to foreigners. Avengers age of Ultron showed us that in the past a white man who thought it was a good idea to do what colonialists and invaders do by stealing vibranium. We know that white man to be Klaw and he was punished for it by being branded. In the same film the Vibranium he stole he went on to sell it to Ultron...and it's for that reason why Wakanda as stated by King T'Chaka in Civil War no longer wanted to be an isolationist country and wanted to start improving its relationship with the rest of the outside world, which they did by first having an outreach program with neighbouring African countries, in this case Nigeria where Wakandans were killed (courtesy of Wanda). T'Chaka himself being killed on foreign soil and T'Challa harbouring foreigners in Wakanda are more than enough reasons for Wakandan trsditionalists to threaten T'Challa's Crown (which will be part of this film's story) because they don't like it. They don't want outsiders in their country.

It's funny all the films and blockbuster movies out there full of white leads, full of all white casts, even historical films that blatantly white wash real people and the first time there's going to be a blockbuster comic book film with a cast that is 90% black and set in an isolationist Subsaharan African country and your first thought and complaint is, where are the white people at?

 

[Dr. Evil]

That was the point I was trying to make to the guy, that Wakanda is located in Africa.

 

[RockSP]

Eh, you guys are wasting your "breath". He's clearly trolling and campaigning for this year's academy award for Most Condescending Post.

 

[Dboi]

No one complained with Lord of the Rings having an all white cast but all of a sudden Black Panther having 90% of the cast being black is a problem?

 

[Silvermoth]

Eh, you guys are wasting your "breath". He's clearly trolling and campaigning for this year's academy award for Most Condescending Post.

Yeah I thought that too. Plus if he really wants representation that bad he can have Martin freeman.

Anyway, it's a shame they couldn't find a place for Janelle Monae in this film. She's getting good reviews for Hidden Figures and she's a huge fan of Afrofuturism. Would have been cool to see her

 

[nephron]

This film WILL have white actors and Asian actors in it. There was a casting call that required Koreans a few months back, the film will also have scenes set in the US and will feature the US government/CIA. There's your diversity. That being said, there are no white people living in Wakanda. Trying to compare Asgard to Wakanda is absolutely absurd. Wakanda as fictionalised as it is still has its essence when it comes to its populace rooted in reality. Have you been to Subsahara Africa before? Do you know the history of South Africa? Hell do you know the history of Africa as a whole and the invasions it suffered? If you did, you wouldn't need to ask this question that is clearly shrouded in ignorance and I dare say trying to bait and trigger people here.

MCU Asgard on the other hand is loosely based on Norse mythology and its inhabitants there are very much in fact interdimensional alien beings.They can be what ever race they choose and furthermore, if you bothered to read the comics, you'd know that not all Asgardians are white.

As for it being 2017, so what? The point of Wakanda is that it was never ever invaded, conquered nor pillaged by outsiders like the rest of Africa has fallen victim to. Wakanda is a country that isolates itself from the outside world and don't take too kindly to foreigners. Avengers age of Ultron showed us that in the past a white man who thought it was a good idea to do what colonialists and invaders do by stealing vibranium. We know that white man to be Klaw and he was punished for it by being branded. In the same film the Vibranium he stole he went on to sell it to Ultron...and it's for that reason why Wakanda as stated by King T'Chaka in Civil War no longer wanted to be an isolationist country and wanted to start improving its relationship with the rest of the outside world, which they did by first having an outreach program with neighbouring African countries, in this case Nigeria where Wakandans were killed (courtesy of Wanda). T'Chaka himself being killed on foreign soil and T'Challa harbouring foreigners in Wakanda are more than enough reasons for Wakandan trsditionalists to threaten T'Challa's Crown (which will be part of this film's story) because they don't like it. They don't want outsiders in their country.

It's funny all the films and blockbuster movies out there full of white leads, full of all white casts, even historical films that blatantly white wash real people and the first time there's going to be a blockbuster comic book film with a cast that is 90% black and set in an isolationist Subsaharan African country and your first thought and complaint is, where are the white people at?

All sarcasm aside, there's a big double-standard in this whole thing, and we all know it, whether we admit it or not.

My genuine position: An all black cast makes perfect sense for this character and this movie. An all-the-colors-of-the-rainbow cast of characters would be contrived, patronizing, and nerve-grating just like that kind of casting always is.

The double standard on display with this one is off-the charts though. The post hoc rationalizations as to why the fictional comic-book land of Wakanda can be held to different diversity-standards than the fictional comic-book land of Asgard is what's absurd. You're pretending that's what you think.

The real reason the two imaginary places are held to different standards is because Asgard absolutely can not be full of nordic looking white people because that would be racist...because of white liberal guilt and the fear of being called "racist". But an all-black cast in a movie about a fictional African country is great because of white liberal guilt and the fear of being called "racist".

 

[Ghostcrow13]

All sarcasm aside, there's a big double-standard in this whole thing, and we all know it, whether we admit it or not.

My genuine position: An all black cast makes perfect sense for this character and this movie. An all-the-colors-of-the-rainbow cast of characters would be contrived, patronizing, and nerve-grating just like that kind of casting always is.

The double standard on display with this one is off-the charts though. The post hoc rationalizations as to why the fictional comic-book land of Wakanda can be held to different diversity-standards than the fictional comic-book land of Asgard is what's absurd. You're pretending that's what you think.

The real reason the two imaginary places are held to different standards is because Asgard absolutely can not be full of nordic looking white people because that would be racist...because of white liberal guilt and the fear of being called "racist". But an all-black cast in a movie about a fictional African country is great because of white liberal guilt and the fear of being called "racist".

Should they not be held to different standards though, the quest for diversity should not end at getting a few more non-whites into supporting roles.

The reason there was clamour for changing Asgard up is because how many all white casts are out there, or how many superhero films were there before Thor where it's majority white casts, literally all of them (maybe I'm missing one, but I've gone through on Wikipedia and can't see any), even something like Blade where the two leads are black is still then a mostly white cast.

So this is an entirely different situation and should not be set to the same standard, this would be the first mostly black cast for a superhero film ever so it rightly would not be ok for them to start making some of the African characters white for 'diversity'. Diversity in film should be about getting the right person for the role, regardless of skin colour, unless specifically there is a need for them to have a specific skin colour, ie a black person playing an African from an isolated country, or more diversity better represents the demographic of the people being portrayed ie more diversity in a high school in Queens.

Now if this was the twentieth cbm film with a majority black cast maybe people would be more accepting, though then as others point out that would still not make sense to the story of wakanda and would change the whole idea of wakanda, unlike making Heimdall black which doesn't affect Asgard.

 

[RockSP]

The reason there was clamour for changing Asgard up is because how many all white casts are out there, or how many superhero films were there before Thor where it's majority white casts, literally all of them (maybe I'm missing one, but I've gone through on Wikipedia and can't see any), even something like Blade where the two leads are black is still then a mostly white cast.

The thing is there was no clamor to change Asgard up. It's something the studio chose to do. Branagh asked Elba to play that role. If the bit part of Heimdall had been played by a white actor it's not like there would've been some large outcry that this obscure (to the general audience) character HAD to be played by a black dude...OR ELSE!! The clamor came from those opposed to the casting choice.

 

[DrCosmic]

All sarcasm aside, there's a big double-standard in this whole thing, and we all know it, whether we admit it or not.

My genuine position: An all black cast makes perfect sense for this character and this movie. An all-the-colors-of-the-rainbow cast of characters would be contrived, patronizing, and nerve-grating just like that kind of casting always is.

The double standard on display with this one is off-the charts though. The post hoc rationalizations as to why the fictional comic-book land of Wakanda can be held to different diversity-standards than the fictional comic-book land of Asgard is what's absurd. You're pretending that's what you think.

The real reason the two imaginary places are held to different standards is because Asgard absolutely can not be full of nordic looking white people because that would be racist...because of white liberal guilt and the fear of being called "racist". But an all-black cast in a movie about a fictional African country is great because of white liberal guilt and the fear of being called "racist".

A lot of times when people are against diversity, as you seem to be, since it's so grating for you that you incorrectly believe it is always grating for everyone else, they forget that diversity occurs in context. BP does not exist in a vacuum, it exists in a world where there is a double standard about movies with black leads and black casts. So while the BP film is not itself as diverse as Captain America, it receives the attention it does because it adds diversity to the list of racially homogenous blockbusters who are, you guessed, virtually all white. That is the diversity that BP creates. That is the double standard it is up against. That is why it makes the news. You are keenly aware of the double standard used in developing Wakanda, both on film and off film, but you are clueless, or in denial, about the double standard that makes Wakanda relevant.

I believe if you educate yourself instead of projecting your feelings onto others, you'll see differently. As long as your belief system relies on assumptions about the beliefs of others, you will always be able to convince yourself that you are right, no matter how wrong you are. If you are not willing to engage in discussion, but are just here to tell other people what they "really" think, then you're just trolling, even if you feel like you're setting the record straight or calling out injustice or whatever it is you have come to believe in a vacuum or echo chamber.

 

[Ghostcrow13]

The thing is there was no clamor to change Asgard up. It's something the studio chose to do. Branagh asked Elba to play that role. If the bit part of Heimdall had been played by a white actor it's not like there would've been some large outcry that this obscure (to the general audience) character HAD to be played by a black dude...OR ELSE!! The clamor came from those opposed to the casting choice.

Ah, well there you go then, I thought I remember people clamouring for a bit more diversity in the cast, but if people weren't strongly wanting that then that's even more a pointless comparison to make.

 

[Leo Zelinsky]

All sarcasm aside, there's a big double-standard in this whole thing, and we all know it, whether we admit it or not.

Go watch literally any other blockbuster ever made then.


Damn they don't want a ***** having ****.