The director accused the Instagram user of displaying his own "racist presumptions" with the claim.
JAMES GUNN SPEAKS OUT ABOUT MARTIN SCORSESE'S PAST CRITICISM OF MARVEL MOVIES
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" director James Gunn pushed back on claims that a casting decision was based on race. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
The exchange happened Monday after the director posted a photo of Iwuji on the set of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" with the caption, "Can’t wait for you all to meet this guy."
Iwuji had been cast as the villain "High Evolutionary" in the upcoming superhero blockbuster. The character originally debuted in the "Thor" comic book series created by Stan Lee in the sixties and was an English scientist who went mad with his genetic experiments.
One social media user didn’t seem too happy about the choice to cast the originally White character as a Black man.
Commenting on the picture, they wrote, "D*****… another white guy they made into a black guy. Why couldn’t they just leave him white or I don’t’ know … pick a different minority? How about Asian or gasp! A Latino? (how many Latinos and Asians in MCU? Like total of 5??) Or make him an Indian or something…because they don’t and won’t, that makes them ‘woke.'"
LONDON,UNITED KINGDOM - APRIL 24: Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Chris Pratt, Kurt Russell, Pom Klentieff, James Gunn and Michael Rooker attend the European Gala Screening of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" at Eventim Apollo on April 24, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Rune Hellestad - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
The user’s lengthy comment continued: "Next time, a major character (hero/villain) will be a trans or homosexual or non-binary (when in comics they are not). Sad and pathetic."
It added, "They’re picking based on race and what’s PC and not on acting and what’s established."
The heavy critique actually caught Gunn’s eye who took time out of his day to rebuke the claim, insisting that he cast the actor for his quality, not his skin color.
Gunn wrote, "I chose the best actor, period, and the best person for the role. I don’t give a s*** what ethnicity @chukwudi_iwuji is, so stop with your racist presumptions on WHY he was chosen. (And, by the way, he’s playing a guy who’s almost always purple in the color."
"I chose the best actor, period, and the best person for the role," Gunn said in response to the criticism. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)
The "Guardians of the Galaxy" director has worked with Iwuji before on the set of "Peacemaker," the HBO Max series based on the DC Comics hero. The raunchy superhero series was directed by Gunn and starred Iwuji alongside WWE superstar-turned-actor John Cena, who played the series protagonist.