Kevin Feige regrets whitewashing 'Doctor Strange' by casting Tilda Swinton

Kevin Feige is regretting whitewashing "Doctor Strange" by casting Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One, instead of an Asian male actor.

The Marvel Studios president admitted that the backlash they received from casting the actress in 2016 was a wake-up call. At the time, they thought they were "being so smart and so cutting edge" when they decided not "to do the cliché of the wizened, old, wise Asian man."

But they have since learned from their mistakes from all the criticism received over their tendency to whitewash characters. Marvel Studios have since fought backlash for not being diverse and inclusive in the casting process, especially when it involves race and sexuality. "Black Panther" was the first-ever film the company made that was predominantly comprised of black actors.

"It was a wake-up call to say, 'Well, wait a minute, is there any other way to figure it out? Is there any other way to both not fall into the cliché and cast an Asian actor?' And the answer to that, of course, is yes," Feige said in an interview for the new issue of Men's Health magazine that features Canadian Simu Lu on the cover. The actor plays the lead role in the upcoming Marvel film "Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings."

Back in 2016, Feige defended their decision to cast Swinton as the Ancient One and called the gender-swapping "exciting." He said it paved way for possibilities and considered it a "fresh way into this old and very typical storyline."

"Why not make the wisest bestower of knowledge in the universe to our heroes in the particular film a woman instead of a man?" he said when asked to comment on the backlash.

"Doctor Strange" director Scott Derrickson also agreed with the casting choice. He admitted that he wanted a "woman with some maturity." But when he envisioned the "character being played by an Asian actress, it was a straight-up Dragon Lady." In the end, they erased the character's Asian-ness by casting Swinton.

Now with the release of "Shang-Chi," Feige takes it as an opportunity to rewrite and modernise the character whose story is relatively obscure compared to other popular Marvel characters. He called it "having a foot in both worlds in the North American world and in China," given that Lu is a Canadian citizen born in China. He is also the first Asian actor to lead a Marvel film.