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Anthony Mackie
The directors of Avengers: Endgame are speaking up after Anthony Mackie criticized the Marvel Cinematic universe for its lack of diversity off screen. Joe and Anthony Russo responded to Mackie’s comments in an interview with the MovieMaker podcast, agreeing that MCU needs to diversify behind the scenes, The Wrap reports.
Mackie told Variety last month that he’s been frustrated working on MCU films because everyone behind the camera is white, with the exception of 2018’s Black Panther. “That’s more racist than anything else,” he said.
When asked about Mackie’s comments, Joe Russo agreed, telling MovieMaker, “he’s not wrong.”
“I think we can always all do better at diversity constantly in this business in every facet of every industry, so he’s not wrong at all,” Joe said. “So I think that we all have to work harder to keep endorsing and supporting diversity on both sides of the camera.”
“We have a ton of respect for Anthony Mackie,” Anthony Russo added. “He’s not only an amazing actor, but he’s an amazing person, and we’ve loved our collaboration with him. He’s a very smart guy.”
Mackie, who starred as Falcon in Avengers: Endgame, has worked with the Russo brothers on multiple films over the years, beginning with Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014. “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,” Mackie told Variety.
The actor was pleased to be working with a Black producer on Black Panther, but he questioned why an all-Black crew had been hired specifically for the film. “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?” he said.
For his upcoming lead role in Disney+‘s Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Mackie told the outlet that he has diversity on his mind.
“My big push with Marvel is hire the best person for the job,” he 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 résumé to get them other jobs,” he continued. “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.”
