--- title: 'Doctor Strange' Co-Writer Defends Casting of Tilda Swinton description: “There is no other character in Marvel history that is such a cultural landmine" canonical: https://time.com/4307455/doctor-strange-casting-tilda-swinton-ancient-one-diversity/ author: Entertainment Weekly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-26T06:35:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:44.233Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'Doctor Strange' Co-Writer Defends Casting of Tilda Swinton og:description: Tilda Swinton was cast as the Ancient One in the Marvel superhero movie og:url: https://time.com/4307455/doctor-strange-casting-tilda-swinton-ancient-one-diversity/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50df9da76066a76e/6988909bcd1bba32a17006be/gettyimages-523316708.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Apple Store Soho Presents Meet The Filmmaker: Tilda Swinton And Luca Guadagnino, "A Bigger Splash" og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Doctor Strange' Co-Writer Defends Casting of Tilda Swinton twitter:description: Tilda Swinton was cast as the Ancient One in the Marvel superhero movie twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50df9da76066a76e/6988909bcd1bba32a17006be/gettyimages-523316708.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _Doctor Strange_ Co-Writer Defends Casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One > 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. ## Video: Tilda Swinton on Her Favorite Performance [Watch (HLS stream): Tilda Swinton on Her Favorite Performance](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JtSEloSE.m3u8) (0:46)  _Published 2011-02-10. The star of I Am Love discusses the performance from 2010 that most amazed and inspired her._ by [Clark Collis / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Clark Collis / Entertainment Weekly Apr 26, 2016 6:35 AM UTC  Actress Tilda Swinton attends the Apple Store Soho Presents Meet The Filmmaker: 'A Bigger Splash,' April 22, 2016, New York City Actress Tilda Swinton attends the Apple Store Soho Presents Meet The Filmmaker: 'A Bigger Splash,' April 22, 2016, New York CityBennett Raglin—WireImage/Getty Images by [Clark Collis / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Clark Collis / Entertainment Weekly Apr 26, 2016 6:35 AM UTC _Doctor Strange_ co-writer C. Robert Cargill has defended the casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One in the forthcoming Marvel superhero movie. In the original Marvel comics, this powerful sorcerer is usually depicted as an elderly, Tibet-dwelling Asian man. In director Scott Derrickson’s film, version, however, Swinton’s character is a white, androgynous figure who lives in Kathmandu, Nepal. Controversy over the casting of Swinton followed the release of a [_Doctor Strange_](http://time.com/4162125/benedict-cumberbatch-doctor-strange-photos/) teaser trailer two weeks ago and the furor over Hollywood’s so-called “white-washing” of non-Caucasian characters was further fueled by an image of Scarlett Johansson in the big-screen adaptation of manga franchise _Ghost in the Shell_. Speaking on the [Double Toasted](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEpbUf8dGq0&feature=youtu.be) podcast, Cargill explained that the casting of Swinton was prompted partly by the racist nature of the original character and partly by the problem of having a character based in Tibet, over which China claims sovereignty. “The thing with the Ancient One is, it is Marvel’s Kobayashi Maru,” said the writer, referring to the no-win training test given to Starfleet Academy cadets in the _Star Trek_ universe. “There is no other character in Marvel history that is such a cultural landmine, that is absolutely unwinnable. I’ve been reading a bunch of people talking about it, and the really frustrating thing about it this week is that, most of the people who have thoughts on it haven’t thought it all the way through. And they go, ‘Well, why didn’t they just do this?’ And it’s like, I could tell you why every single decision which involves the Ancient One is a bad one and, just like the Kobayashi Maru, it all comes down to which way you’re willing to lose. The Ancient One was a racist stereotype, who comes from a region of the world that is in very weird political place. He originates from Tibet, so if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place, and that he is Tibetan, you risk alienating 1 billion people who think that that’s bulls— and risk the Chinese government going, ‘Hey, you know, one of the biggest film-watching countries in the world? We’re not going to show your movie because you decided to get political…. So, what Scott decided to do — and this happened before I came onboard, so I wasn’t part of this decision at all, although there’s part of me that wishes I was — was, he was just like, ‘There’s no real way to win this, so let’s use this as an opportunity to cast an amazing actress in a male role.’” Cargill also said that the _Doctor Strange_ teaser trailer only gave a small idea of the film’s scope. “This teaser, it is the definition of a teaser,” he explained. “You are only getting a small taste of just how crazy this movie gets. We have only just a slightest hint of magic in there. There’s major characters you don’t even glimpse in that trailer. There’s so much stuff going on that — it’s nutty, the stuff they let us do. I can’t believe they let us do it.” _Doctor Strange_ is released Nov. 4. 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