Marvel On Doctor Strange 2016 Whitewashing Controversy: Is Tilda Swinton's Ancient One Celtic?

It's been only a couple of weeks since the first teaser trailer for Marvel's second 2016 film, Doctor Strange, was released to the public, and the studio has faced a lot of criticism over one casting choice: Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One, a role traditionally written as an older, male Asian. Now, Marvel Studios wants to set the record straight regarding whitewashing controversey.

In an official statement to Mashable, Marvel Studios revealed that there hadn't been any "whitewashing" of the character, as the Cinematic Universe iteration isn't an older Asian man, but rather a Celtic persona.

"Marvel has a very strong record of diversity in its casting of films and regularly departs from stereotypes and source material to bring its MCU to life," reads the recent statement. "The Ancient One is a title that is not exclusively held by any one character, but rather a moniker passed down through time, and in this particular film the embodiment is Celtic. We are very proud to have the enormously talented Tilda Swinton portray this unique and complex character alongside our richly diverse cast."

This is the first official response from the studio regarding the controversy, though Swinton herself and Doctor Strange screenwriter C. Robert Cargill had already spoken about the subject. Swinton revealed the character she was playing wasn't Asian (something now confirmed with Marvel Studios' statement), while Cargill compared the casting process to the Star Trek training exercise of the Kobayashi Maru, an unwinnable situation.

This isn't the first time in recent months that Marvel has gotten in trouble with the Asian-American community over their casting decisions. As Vulture reported weeks back, there was an outcry for the lead actor in Netflix's upcoming MCU series, Iron Fist, to be Asian-American in honor of the character's strong ties to the East, but the studio chose to go on another direction by casting Game of Thrones actor Finn Jones instead, keeping the character white as originally written in the comic books.

Doctor Strange, which stars British actor Benedict Cumberbatch as the title superhero role, will hit theaters on November 4.