--- title: 'Gods of Egypt' Director and Studio Apologize for Film's Lack of Diversity description: "We failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity" canonical: https://time.com/4128406/gods-of-egypt-director-and-studio-apologize-for-films-lack-of-diversity/ author: Entertainment Weekly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-28T15:08:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T12:56:15.411Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'Gods of Egypt' Director and Studio Apologize for Film's Lack of Diversity og:description: "We failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity" og:url: https://time.com/4128406/gods-of-egypt-director-and-studio-apologize-for-films-lack-of-diversity/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8175a35182b36b61/698872ef0a4a2243e99c73bd/gods-of-egypt_te29jf.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: gods-of-egypt_tE29jF og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Gods of Egypt' Director and Studio Apologize for Film's Lack of Diversity twitter:description: "We failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8175a35182b36b61/698872ef0a4a2243e99c73bd/gods-of-egypt_te29jf.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _Gods of Egypt_ Director and Studio Apologize for Film's Lack of Diversity > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Oliver Gettell / EW](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Oliver Gettell / EW Nov 28, 2015 3:08 PM UTC  Gods of Egypt Gods of EgyptSummit Entertainment by [Oliver Gettell / EW](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Oliver Gettell / EW Nov 28, 2015 3:08 PM UTC The director and studio for the action-fantasy _Gods of Egypt_ are apologizing after the film’s lack of diversity sparked backlash. Directed by Alex Proyas and set in ancient Egypt, the tale of deities and mortals fighting over the fate of the world features several white actors in prominent roles, including Gerard Butler, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Brenton Thwaites. Many observers [objected to the casting choices](http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/13/gods-of-egypt-posters-anger-whitewashed-cast-twitter-exodus) when characters posters and a trailer were unveiled earlier this month. Proyas said in a statement Friday, “The process of casting a movie has many complicated variables, but it is clear that our casting choices should have been more diverse. I sincerely apologize to those who are offended by the decisions we made.” Lionsgate, the studio behind _Gods of Egypt_, added, “We recognize that it is our responsibility to help ensure that casting decisions reflect the diversity and culture of the time periods portrayed. In this instance we failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity, for which we sincerely apologize. Lionsgate is deeply committed to making films that reflect the diversity of our audiences. We have, can and will continue to do better.​” Forbes [first reported](http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2015/11/27/exclusive-lionsgate-responds-to-gods-of-egypt-whitewashing-controversy/) Proyas and Lionsgate’s mea culpa. _Gods of Egypt_ is the most recent film to be criticized for “whitewashing” its cast. Others include the biblical epic [_Exodus: Gods and Kings_](http://www.ew.com/article/2014/12/15/fact-checking-exodus), the romantic comedy [_Aloha_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/03/cameron-crowe-aloha-apology-emma-stone), the LGBT rights drama [_Stonewall_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/06/stonewall-trailer-boycott), the Peter Pan origin story [_Pan_](http://www.ew.com/article/2014/03/13/rooney-mara-tiger-lily-controversy), and the sci-fi movie [_The Martian_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/10/08/the-martian-casting-controversy-asian-american). _Gods of Egypt_ opens Feb. 26. _This_ [_article_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/11/27/gods-of-egypt-casting-controversy) _originally on_ [_EW.com_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/11/27/gods-of-egypt-casting-controversy) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4128406/gods-of-egypt-director-and-studio-apologize-for-films-lack-of-diversity/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4128406/gods-of-egypt-director-and-studio-apologize-for-films-lack-of-diversity/"},"headline":"Gods of Egypt Director and Studio Apologize for Film's Lack of Diversity","datePublished":"2015-11-28T15:08:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:56:15.411Z","description":"\"We failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity\"","url":"https://time.com/4128406/gods-of-egypt-director-and-studio-apologize-for-films-lack-of-diversity/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8175a35182b36b61/698872ef0a4a2243e99c73bd/gods-of-egypt_te29jf.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Oliver Gettell / EW"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8175a35182b36b61/698872ef0a4a2243e99c73bd/gods-of-egypt_te29jf.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"gods-of-egypt_tE29jF","caption":"Gods of Egypt","creditText":"Summit Entertainment","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4128406/gods-of-egypt-director-and-studio-apologize-for-films-lack-of-diversity/","name":"Gods of Egypt Director and Studio Apologize for Film's Lack of Diversity"}}]}] ```