An exhaustive study conducted by GeekWrapped (h/t ComicBook.com) has found that, by and large, comic book movie fans are crying out for more diversity on the big screen.
Upon surveying close to 1,000 self-professed film fans about “their sentiment toward superheroes’ races or ethnicities, how well they believed superheroes reflected themselves, and what they preferred them to look like,” GeekWrapped discovered that Caucasian viewers typically feel well represented by on-screen heroes (no surprise there), scoring 4.3 out of 5.
Further down the charts are Black/African-American (2.4), Multiracial or Biracial (2.3), and Hispanic at 2.2, illustrating a clear desire for better representation for those ethnicities pushed to the fringes. As a matter of fact, of the people polled, 83.8 percent of men called for more inclusion in the genre, which was echoed by around 92 percent of women.
Another interesting facet to be weaned from GeekWrapped’s findings involves individual characters and, in particular, the percentage of people wanting said characters to remain the same. Black Panther topped the pile at 60.3 percent, but the lowly scores for Captain America (40.1 percent), Iron Man (35.4 percent), and Wonder Woman (34.6 percent) hint that viewers aren’t necessarily attached to the race, ethnicity or gender of each character. All of this and more is outlined via the pretty infographics below:
There is evidence to suggest that the comic book movie industry is on the cusp of real progress, particularly now that the meteoric success of Black Panther has left Marvel Studios “emboldened” to pursue more diverse stories in Phase 4 and beyond. Moreover, Sony Pictures recently issued the green light on a fifth Spider-Man spinoff. This one’s called Silk, and will primarily center on Korean-American superheroine Cindy Moon.
More LGBTQ representation is also coming to the MCU in the not-so-distant future – or so says Kevin Feige – while DC fans are quietly petitioning Patty Jenkins, director of Wonder Woman 1984, to honor Diana’s sexual orientation as it’s portrayed in the comics. Only time will tell if that yields any tangible results.
