Anthony Mackie: ‘It’s Racist’ for ‘Black Panther’ to Be the Only MCU Film with Black Crew
Zack Sharf
Anthony Mackie says it’s bothersome that the seven films he has made in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been directed by white filmmakers and featured predominantly white casts. While speaking with “Snowpiercer” star Daveed Diggs for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” video interview series, the actor behind the MCU’s Falcon shared critical thoughts on Marvel’s lack of diversity behind the camera.
“When ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ comes out, I’m the lead,” Mackie said of his upcoming Disney+ series. “When ‘Snowpiercer’ came out, you’re the lead. We have the power and the ability to ask those questions. 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.”
“We’ve had one Black producer; his name was Nate Moore,” Mackie continued. “He produced ‘Black Panther.’ But then when you do ‘Black Panther,’ you have a Black director, Black producer, a Black costume designer, a Black stunt choreographer. 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 made his MCU debut in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and is joining forces with franchise favorite Sebastian Stan for the upcoming Disney+ original series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” Mackie is correct when he points out that “Black Planther” is the sole MCU release directed by a Black filmmaker. That would be Ryan Coogler, who is set to return for the sequel.
“My big push with Marvel is hire the best person for the job,” Mackie said in his Variety interview. “Even if it means we’re going to get the best two women, we’re going to get the best two men. Fine. I’m cool with those numbers for the next 10 years. Because it starts to build a new generation of people who can put something on their résumé to get them other jobs. If we’ve got to divvy out as a percentage, divvy it out. And that’s something as leading men that we can go in and push for.”
Head over to Variety’s website to watch his interview with Diggs in its entirety.
