Doctor Strange

In the original comics, the Ancient One is an elderly Tibetan man, but the film changes the character into an androgynous Celtic woman played by Tilda Swinton. Producers stated they genderswapped the role to avoid stereotypes and give a woman a powerful, wise mentor role. Additionally, Karl Mordo, originally a white character, is cast with black actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. Wong is also updated from a comic-book servant into a tough, highly competent librarian. While the movie has a strong focus on updating old characters, these changes serve the fantasy narrative and do not lecture the audience about real-world race or gender politics.

The film makes several major changes to established comic book canon. The Ancient One is changed from an elderly Tibetan man to a Celtic woman. Marvel executives openly stated they genderswapped the role to put a woman in a wise, high-status mentor role. Additionally, Karl Mordo is changed from a white Transylvanian noble to a black sorcerer, and Wong is changed from a stereotypical subservient manservant to a highly competent master of the mystic arts.

Most of the controversy surrounding the film came from left-wing critics who accused Marvel of whitewashing because they cast a white woman instead of an Asian actor for the Ancient One. Right-leaning and anti-woke viewers had very few complaints about the film. Aside from minor grumbling from comic book purists about the gender and race changes to the Ancient One and Karl Mordo, there was no major anti-woke backlash against the movie.

The creative team represents a mix of neutral, traditional, and diversity-focused figures. While writer-director Scott Derrickson and writer C. Robert Cargill have very low woke scores and focus on traditional storytelling, key Marvel executives like Kevin Feige, Victoria Alonso, Stephen Broussard, and casting director Sarah Halley Finn have moderate-to-high woke scores due to their long-term, public commitment to expanding identity-based representation in the Marvel franchise.