Marvel Studios has definitely started making a bigger effort to increase diversity behind the scenes, hence why movies like Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings have non-white male directors working on them. It's a step in the right direction, but there's a long way to go, something that was evident from recent comments made by Anthony Mackie.
The actor will soon be seen in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and is being lined up as the Marvel Cinematic Universe's next Captain America. However, he didn't shy away from calling Marvel Studios out during an "Actors on Actors" Variety interview alongside Snowpiercer's Daveed Diggs.
"When 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier' comes out, I'm the lead. When 'Snowpiercer' comes out, you're the lead. We have the power and the ability to ask those questions," Mackie said. "It really bothered me that I've done seven Marvel movies where every producer, every director, every stunt person, every costume designer, every PA, every single person has been white."
Surprisingly, Mackie then echoed the comments of many fans by pointing out that hiring an almost all-Black crew on a movie with a Black lead is, in many ways, just as bad. Why? Because that diversity should be included behind the scenes regardless of the race (or gender) of the lead character.
"But then when you do 'Black Panther,' you have a Black director, Black producer, you have a Black costume designer, you have a Black stunt choreographer," he noted. "And I'm like, that's more racist than anything else. Because if you only can hire the Black people for the Black movie, are you saying they're not good enough when you have a mostly white cast?"
Mackie concluded by saying Marvel Studios should ultimately "hire the best person for the job. Even if it means we're going to get the best two women, we're going to get the best two men."
What do you guys think?