James Gunn has recently defended the choice of Chukwudi Iwuji as a High Evolutionary in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3), responding to “racist” fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The villain is the creator of Rocket and is hell-bent on creating a special breed of enhanced beings, and Gunn celebrated his introduction to the MCU by posting a photo of the actor on social media with the caption: “Can’t wait for you guys to meet this guy.” .
“I chose the best actor, period.”
But accusations soon came that Iwuji got the role “because of his race” or stronger, like “Damn… another white guy who turned black”, to which James Gunn replied on instagram:
“I chose the best actor, period, and the best person for the role. I don’t give a shit about Chukwudi Iwuji’s ethnicity, so enough with his racist presumptions about WHY he was cast. (And by the way, he’s playing a guy who it is almost always purple [en los cómics de Marvel]. )”
This isn’t the first time Gunn has dismissed criticism of Iwuji’s casting in the film. The filmmaker tweeted similar sentiments in December 2022.insisting that in the election there have been no suggestions or pressure from Marvel Studios to hire him, but that he is solely responsible for all casting decisions for the third installment of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’:
“It has nothing to do with race. It’s because he’s the best actor he’s ever worked with”
Because Chuk is the best actor I’ve ever worked with, that’s why. Has zero to do with race.
—James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 2, 2022
This also includes bringing in Maria Bakalova from ‘Borat 2’ to voice ‘Cosmo the Space Dog’, a controversial move given that the character is portrayed as male in the Guardians source material. Gunn explained why his version of Cosmo is female in a recent tweet.tying this creative choice with inspiration from the real world of the intelligent canine.
“Cosmo is based on Laika, a Soviet space dog who died in orbit in 1957. I’m just going back to the source material.”
Cosmo is based on Laika, a female Soviet space dog who died in orbit in 1957 – I’m just going back to the original source material. https://t.co/9PkTzs53t8
—James Gunn (@JamesGunn) July 24, 2022
However, not all of Gunn’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3’ casting choices have resulted in backlash from fans. In particular, heWill Poulter’s interpretation of Adam Warlock has been well received, despite previously pushing Gunn to cast a higher-profile actor for the role. Gunn recently said
“People were like, ‘Oh, Tom Cruise should be Adam Warlock. I wanted someone who was young, and I wanted the person who had dramatic and comedic chops, not just for this movie but for what Marvel will use Adam Warlock for in the future”.