Chloe Bennet Says The MCU Should Take A Page From Marvel TV On Diversity

In a new interview with The Daily Beast, half-Chinese actress Chloe Bennet touched on a number of topics, including the response she got on casting calls after changing her last name from Wang to Bennet, being slightly disappointed with the Iron Fist casting and the general need to take liberties when it comes to casting comic book characters.  

On the subject of racism in Hollywood, Bennet stated that once she started going on casting calls using Bennet instead of Wang, the response was like night and day.  "Oh, the first audition I went on after I changed my name, I got booked.  So that’s a pretty clear little snippet of how Hollywood works.”

Continuing with the theme of racism and diversity, the conversation then steered towards Finn Jones being cast as Danny Rand aka Iron Fist in the Netflix superhero drama. Bennet made this statement, while laughing,  "I actually saw that [casting] news and I can’t lie, I was a little [disappointed].  I love Marvel, but…"

While she did laud Marvel for thinking outside of the box when it comes thinking outside of the box when it comes to casting its characters, Bennet did state that she would like things taken a step further.  "I know they want to stay true to their characters but, you know, every female character in Marvel comics also has, like, triple-Z-sized boobs. So if they cast actors based on the way characters look on the page, I don’t think even Scarlett Johansson—well, maybe Scarlett Johansson—would be in the movies.  I think they could do better.  You know, there are a lot of white guys named Chris. But I think they will, because it’s important. It’s the right thing to do. Marvel’s a smart company and I think they will represent their fans from around the world. They can take note from the way we’re going on the show, ’cause we’re doing a pretty good job."

Those are certainly strong statements from Bennet.  Marvel is actually one of the leaders in terms of diversifying comic book characters.  Black Panther and Wakanda are definitely depicted well in Captain America: Civil War and should have fans eagerly anticipating T'Chaka's solo film in 2018.  Add that to casting choices for characters like Heimdall and Bennet's own Daisy Johnson and it's hard to point fingers.  Nevertheless, Bennet thinks Marvel could and should do more. A prime example would be the current controversy surrounding Tilda Swinton's portrayal of the Ancient One.

Do you agree with Bennet? Sound off in the usual spot below and keep the discussion rolling.