Anthony Mackie Says Marvel Needs to Work on Diversity On Set

Anthony Mackie, the actor who plays Falcon in several Marvel movies reveals in an interview that Marvel movies all have had a white production crew and the company needs to work on diversity.

Anthony Mackie recently opened up about his experiences playing Falcon in Marvel movies. During an interview with Daveed Diggs for Variety's Actors on Actor, Mackie discussed how the Black Lives Matter movement is putting a spotlight on diversity in Hollywood.

"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," the 41-year-old began.

"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 added that changes in hiring practices should be implemented even if it means creating a percentage system to get aspiring talent more experiences.

"My big push with Marvel is hire the best person for the job," Mackie said. "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 resume 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."Daveed Diggs added the need for creating more diversity, saying it has become part of the production of "Snowpierecer", as he is the lead actor in the series. "Going forward, how do we get the conversation to elevate 'cause it's happening anyway. Because the nature of my body in the place is causing it to happen." Mackie also explained being the lead actor in the new series "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" allowed him to create more of a dialogue about diversity in the workplace. "We have the power and the ability to ask those questions." Watch the video below.

In relevant news, Disney and Marvel’s ‘Ms. Marvel’ TV series will reportedly start shooting in Atlanta, Georgia this August 2020.

If all goes well with Georgia’s reopening process amid the Coronavirus Pandemic, Disney’s ‘Ms. Marvel’s TV series will start production this August 2020.

According to reports, the show will center around Marvel’s first Muslim superhero. Ms. Marvel is a comic hero and has existed since 1976 with the character Carol Danvers. The latest version and the one the show will focus on is a Muslim teenager named Pamela Khan. Khan became Marvel’s first Muslim character to lead in her own comic book series. Her identity is Pakistani American and she lives in a religious family in New Jersey. The show will reportedly center around her trying to find her identity and her powers are described as having the ability to stretch and change shape. This series is supposed to be a series for Disney+.

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