James Gunn slams back upon a user who commented on the ethnicity of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 villain High Evolutionary, played by Chukwudi Iwuji. On Monday, the new co-head of DC Studios shared a photo of Iwuji in his role on the set of his upcoming Marvel movie and captioned it, “Can’t wait for you guys to meet this guy.”
One Instagram user left a lengthy comment on Gunn’s photo, saying: “Damn… another white guy they turned into a black guy. Why couldn’t they just leave it blank or I don’t know… pick another minority? How about Asian or pants? A Latino? (How many Latinos and Asians are in the MCU? Like 5 total?) Or turn him into an Indian or something… because they don’t and won’t do it, that makes them ‘wake up’.”
The user continued, “Next time a main character (hero/villain) will be trans or gay or non-binary (in the comics they aren’t). Sad and pathetic. They choose based on race and what CP is, not acting and what is set.
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Gunn responded, writing, “I picked the best actor, point, and person for the role. I don’t give a damn about @chukwudi_iwuji’s ethnicity so stop making racist assumptions about WHY he was cast. (And by the way, he plays a guy who’s almost always purple.)
Gunn previously worked with Iwuji on Peacemaker, the HBO Max series that evolved from The Suicide Squad. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 marks the final installment in the franchise and Gunn’s final project at Marvel as he now runs DC Studios alongside Peter Safran. The film hits theaters on May 5 and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and many others.
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