Back in March it was announced that a live-action movie adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa’s manga series Fullmetal Alchemist is in development, and it seems that the project will avoid the “whitewashing” controversy that has plagued DreamWorks’ Ghost in the Shell, with director Fumihiko Sori revealing that it will have an “entirely Japanese” cast.
“The cast is entirely Japanese, but the setting is Europe,” states Sori (via Fusion). “However, their race and nationality isn’t expressed in a specific form. This is an alternate history where alchemy isn’t magic and Europe just has a slightly different name.”
Ghost in the Shell is not the only high profile release to come under fire for “whitewashing” lately, with Marvel also taking flak for the casting of white actress Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One in Marvel’s upcoming superhero origin story Doctor Strange.
The live-action Fullmetal Alchemist movie is slated for release in 2017.
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Originally published May 29, 2016. Updated November 29, 2022.
