Actress Jessica Alba has recently made a thriving transition from Hollywood actress to beauty entrepreneur and founder of The Honest Company. But she would always be remembered as Sue Storm/the Invisible Woman in Fox’s Fantastic Four movies.
Alba had a long-lasting career in acting. She began acting at a very young age, and her first appearance was at the age of 13 in the movie Camp Nowhere. She has also studied at the Atlantic Theatre Company later. Alba shot to stardom as Max Guevara in James Cameron’s TV series Dark Angel.
She then starred in movies like Honey (2003), Sun City (2005), Into the Blue (2005), The Eye (2008), and Machete (2010) and earned various acclaim. But the star who has been in two Fantastic Four movies (that too since 2005) believes that Marvel films are “still quite Caucasian” and there is a long way to go for them.
Jessica Alba Believes Marvel Films are “Quite Caucasian”
In an interview with Glamour, Jessica Alba opens up with Emily Maddick and says that she still feels there is more work to do, especially in big movie franchises. She said:
“Even if you look at the Marvel movies – that’s the biggest driver of fantasy and what’s happening right now in entertainment, because it’s sort of the family thing – it’s still quite Caucasian. I would say I was one of the few back in the day… And it was before Marvel was sold to Disney… but it’s still quite… more of the same.”
As a woman of Latina heritage, she added this before reflecting on when she starred in the Fantastic Four Marvel franchise in the ’90s. She feels that Marvel movies used to favor more whites, but when she looks again after Marvel was sold to Disney, she feels little to no difference.
Jessica Alba Calls for Diversity in Hollywood Casting Decisions
Jessica Alba highlighted the lack of diversity in “people in charge” of casting decisions. She addressed that until and unless there won’t be more representation at the top level, Hollywood will continue to do “more of the same.” Alba said in the same interview with Glamour:
“It’s the same in business and in Hollywood – if you have people in charge who aren’t really reflective of the audience you’re appealing to, they only know what they know. They only know what they like. And so they’re going to gravitate towards more of the same.”
No doubt, there’s a way to go for Marvel films regarding including diversity in their projects. But in recent years, Marvel (acquired by Disney in 2009) has tried to include more diversity in its movies. For instance, they had a mostly Black cast in Black Panther in 2018. They also introduced their first Asian-American superhero in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
And guess what? A Black actor, Anthony Mackie, will soon take on the Captain America role in Captain America: Brave New World. More than that, a Disney+ series, Ms. Marvel has also introduced the franchise’s first Muslim superhero.
Source: Glamour
