Doctor Strange Director Says Ancient One Role Was Written For Swinton

When the casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One hit the news, it elicited praise, a few shrugs, and a healthy amount of discord amongst the Asian community and its supporters.

In the comics, the Ancient One is Tibetan, and with an already small pool of Asian roles to choose from in Hollywood, many were annoyed that the role was given to someone of caucasian descent. Director Scott Derrickson recently told THR that the role was written with her in mind, and was purposefully changed to avoid the stereotypes present in the comics.

“Looking at Marvel movies, I think that we’re missing a major character that is Tilda’s age and has this kind of strength and power,” said Derrickson. “The Ancient One in the comics is a very old American stereotype of what Eastern characters and people are like, and I felt very strongly that we need to avoid those stereotypes at all costs.”

It’s right in line with Marvel president Kevin Feige’s earlier comments, who echoed Derrickson’s sentiments about the character’s comic origins.

“We make all of our decisions on all of our films, and certainly on Doctor Strange, for creative reasons and not political reasons. That’s just always been the case. I’ve always believed that it is the films themselves that will cross all borders and really get people to identify with these heroes, and that always comes down to creative and not political reasons. The casting of The Ancient One was a major topic of conversation in the development and the creative process of the story. We didn’t want to play into any of the stereotypes found in the comic books, some of which go back as far as 50 years or more.

Swinton is a talented actress, and even though some are still upset, hopefully, they’ll give her a chance to show why the part is in good hands.

Doctor Strange hits theaters on November 4.