Kumail Nanjiani, the Pakistani-American actor made his debut in MCU as Kingo in Eternals. But according to him, Marvel Studios are more likely to cast white people as villains. He said that the executives are uncomfortable casting non-white villains.
The situation here seems that in an effort of steering people clear of casting them against color, Marvel Studios fears how it may be perceived while trying to create a more diverse landscape.
Kumail Nanjiani Wants to Play the Bad Guy
Kumail Nanjiani revealed to Esquire UK while promoting his new series Welcome to Chippendales, when the discussion veered towards how non-white cast for the role of an antagonist was not preferred by Marvel Studios. He added,
“I think that Hollywood now even though they’re trying to be more diverse — is still weird”.
Nanjiani says that he wants to play more roles as a villain, but that will be difficult to get. He adds, “And that’s just as limiting as anything else,” Nanjiani said. “I want to play more bad guys”. Given Marvel Studios’ influence with audiences and the box office, perhaps Majors as Kang will lead to broader casting at other studios and those “bad guy” roles for Nanjiani. He also hints that if Eternals were to have a second movie, Nanjiani wants to play the bad guy for a change.
Kumail Nanjiani also talked about the actor Sebastian Stan, also known as the Winter Soldier from the MCU, who plays the role of a psychopath and goes around killing people. Hollywood shouldn’t be limiting these roles regardless. Especially if an actor like Kumail Nanjiani wants to be able to play villains, just like anyone else.
Though Marvel Studios’ take may also not be without logic, as recently, the Netflix series Wednesday have felt a severe backlash due to these exact reasons. They cast Joy Sunday, a black actress to play the role of a bully in the show. Though she comes around later in the plot, many fans were disappointed about this matter.
Kumail Nanjiani’s Role in the Eternals
Kumail Nanjiani played the role of Kingo in Eternals, a powerful member of a genetically engineered group. While created by the Celestials in the World Forge, Kingo and many others were sent to Earth to save humanity from the Deviants and to progress the planet’s societal development.
After defeating the deviants, they were stranded on Earth and each of the Eternals went their own way. As they were not able to age, Kingo settled down in India under the name Raj Kingo Deva and posed as his own male descendants, sharing the same name and face, forming his own Bollywood acting dynasty.
Also read: Eternals: The Ending Complicates An Unsolved MCU Mystery Even MORE!
Kumail Nanjiani spoke with THR when asked about this role,
“I’ve never gotten the opportunity to play a character like this, who has such a big arc and a descent into darkness. I’ve always wanted to play the bad guy, I don’t mean just guys who were kind of shitty – I mean a bad bad guy. The story itself was so exciting and unexpected.”
Later, when the team planned to stop the Emergence and go against the wishes of the Celestials, Kingo grew doubtful of the plan, and later as Ikari betrayed the group, Kingo left due to his conflicting beliefs. After the Emergence was stopped by the Eternals, Kingo was pulled into space alongside the Eternals by Arishem the Judge so Earth could face judgment.
Source: Esquire UK
Welcome to Chippendales is available to stream now on Hulu.
