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Marvel sometimes showed its traditional views on gender and race. The most common example of this is when they excluded Black Widow from the merchandise.
Just like that, the MCU originally had another villain in mind for Chris Hemsworth’sThor: The Dark World.However,the character was not chosen due to concerns about how well-related action figures featuring a Black character would sell in the market.
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MCU Excluded Better Thor 2 Villain for Representation Concerns
Marvel’s New York office removed certain movie ideas and character choices from movies likePower Pack(considering the Power siblings’ age) and the planned villain, Hela (the Norse goddess of death), in the 2013Thorsequel,Thor: The Dark World.Over this, the producer ofThe Dark World, Kyle, said (in theMCU: Reign of Marvel Studio):
“In our original film, yes, it was a Hela story, and she was our big bad. But at that point in the process, so many of our decisions were being driven by the New York office. They forbid us from going that direction. And the short version was, ‘Boys don’t buy female action figures.’ That is truly the reason why that version of the film was not allowed to be developed. I was also told that people don’t buy Black action figures.”
So, fans would have definitely taken a look at Hela in theThorsequel, but because the New York office forbade the show producers not to go in that direction, the Asgardian Goddess of Death could not be included in the film. This shows that gender stereotypes and commercial considerations can also impact the casting decisions in superhero films.
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MCU’s Traditional Views on Gender and Race Revealed in Merchandise and TV Series Decisions
In the MCU: Reign of Marvel Studio, an insider revealed that Marvel’s decision not to include certain female action figures in merchandise comes from the notion that“boys will not buy girls’ dolls, period.”
Similarly, in 2019,Marvel’s Runawaysended after its fast-approaching third season. However, the TV series was not canceled due to scheduling conflicts with MCU team projects. Instead, producer Craig Kyle explained that“it was actually toy-based.”
Here, it means that the MCU preferred“heroes that were white and in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties-that was the sweet spot.”As Kyle asserted,“Runaways got thrown to the side because they’re not in their twenties and there are some girls and minorities in that group. So that’s out.””
Again, the decision was taken mainly because of commercial considerations that are related to toy sales and target demographics.
Also read:“You are in a 200 million dollar student film”: Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man Co-star Had a Major Problem With His Only MCU Movie’s Shooting Process
Shreya Jha
Articles Published :1042
Meet Shreya, FandomWire’s go-to Pop-Culture Writer. She holds a master’s degree in Journalism and a pop culture obsession that rivals even the most die-hard ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel fans.Her articles have been published in Animated Times, Creator Mail, and The Luxxe Mag. When Shreya’s not busy dishing out hot takes, she is lost in the world of rom-coms.
