The arguement on the subject of diversity in comic book films comes up often on this site. It's a heated subject which we seem to never be able to rest, and maybe this article isn't helping. I don't mean to rustle any jimmies, but it is time to put the subject to rest, and hopefully I can do so today. Since a lot of what I'm going say have already been said, I'll try and keep this short.
Who are your top 10 favorite superheroes? Well mines are, in order from most favorite to least is: Captain America, Batman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, Black Panther, Iron Man, Wolverine, Jean Grey(Pheonix), Spawn, and Daredevil. I look up to and relate with all these heroes. To those who don't know, I'm Black and male, and there is only two characters on my list who fits both those descriptions. So what was the point of this? Well, is your list similar? Do many of the characters to love, look up to, and relate to not share your race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc? I would, as I suspect many of you guys would love as well, for more comic book films based on characters with different races, genders, religions, sexual orientations, etc., but to do so based soley on giving more people, who aren't white, straight, and male, someone to look up to and/or relate to is redundant, when our love for these characters don't stem from that. If you can't look up to and relate to characters who don't share your gender or race, the problem isn't with the character, it's with you.
I love strong characters, which we all do, and their race and gender has nothing to do with it. A character's personality and attributes are what draw me to them, which it should be for everyone. Studios know this, and while they may take some risk(Guardians of the Galaxy, Suicide Squad, Ant Man) they still have to keep the majority of the films they make something they can rely on being financially beneficial for them. There are many diverse comic characters, but most would be huge risk giving their own film, so if you want to see one or more of these characters on the big screen, just keep showing your love for them. Let their popularity grow, voice your wants for the characters and the studios will notice(Deadpool). Studios don't need to just rush on these risky films, just for diversity sake, negatively effecting quality and B.O numbers. Doing this will cause studios to move away from CBMS due to losing the general audience, and the long theorized fall of the CBM genre may actually come true.
Just going to touch on this a little, but on casting, if an actor have to be a certian race or gender, to be that character, that should not be changed for diversity sake. To those who don't, it should come down to who proves themself the best to the studio, regardless or race, gender, sexual orientation, etc., but lately it seem studios narrow the people they cast or hire(directors) to those who serve their diversity driven agenda.