Racebending.com

On August 26th, Marvel Studios responded to Racebending.com and the Asian American community’s concerns about the casting of an Asian American actress to portray the character Nico Minoru in Runaways (2012).

Here’s a round up of all of the online news coverage Racebending.com’s advocacy efforts for the Runaways casting received.

Backstage Magazine: Marvel Moves to Quell Casting Controversy

The changes to the casting notice at www.smallfacescasting.com came as a result of dialogue between Marvel; its parent company, Walt Disney Studios; and Racebending.com, which first publicly criticized the notice Aug. 5. Marissa Lee, co-founder of Racebending.com, praised Marvel’s “swift response” to concerns regarding the casting notice.

“Having an Asian-American hero like Nico realized on the silver screen will mean a lot to fans and to the Asian-American community,” Lee said. “It’s fantastic that Marvel is willing to break from Hollywood’s long history of marginalizing performers of color.”

Pacific Citizen: Marvel’s ‘Runaways’ Casting Notice Changed To Seek Asian American Lead

Asian Pacific American groups are celebrating Marvel Studios’ decision to change a casting notice’s language for the adaptation of the ‘Runaways,’ which now specifically calls for an Asian American actress for the leading role.

…In response to the APA community’s concerns, Marvel changed the casting notice Aug. 25 to specifically solicit auditions from APA actresses after what a studio representative called an oversight. Marvel says, in a released statement, it intends to stay true to the legacy of the comic.

Techland: Why Marvel’s Runaways Won’t Be Another Airbender

Whether this was simply correcting an earlier oversight or a genuine change brought on by Racebending’s complaint, this is a smart move for Marvel – It makes them look more responsive to fan concerns, and also neatly sidesteps any controversy similar to the Airbender race discussions, which gave the movie a lot of bad press before anyone had even seen a frame of it.

UGO.com: Marvel Sticks to the Comic for Runaways Racial Casting

Vague casting notices made it appear that the comic studio was widening their scope for the role of Nico Minrou, an Asian-American character described in the casting call as “uniquely beautiful” and “nurturing, but guarded” – a red flag for racial casting/whitewashing. Thankfully, it looks like Marvel isn’t out to piss off the book’s fanbase. Good call!

8Asians: Marvel Responds To Runaways Casting

Sometimes when we protest over API representation in Hollywood, the industry actually listens and sometimes, they actually do something about it. Marvel responded to Racebending’s concerns over their lack of specification in their casting call for the Japanese American character, Nico Minoru, in Runaways.

Racialicious: Marvel Does Right By Runaways

Good news from Racebending yesterday: Marvel Studios responded to questions over the casting of Nico Minoru in the best possible way…Congrats to Racebending on this victory, and kudos to Marvel for doing the right thing.

Comic Book Resources: Marvel Reacts To Runaways Race Bending Accusations

When an open casting call for Runaways began circulating earlier this month, many fans were alarmed that the apparent description for Nico Minoru didn’t indicate that the role was for an Asian-American actress. But Marvel isn’t planning to shy away from Nico’s ethnicity, according to the studio.

Angry Asian Man: marvel responds to runaways casting concerns

The good news is that Marvel listened. Based on several conversations with the folks at Racebending, the studio has responded and adjusted the casting notice to reflect that they are indeed looking for an Asian American actress to fill the role…

Again, huge props to the good people at Racebending, who have remained vigilant and proactive about this issue. And tentative props to Marvel Studios for promptly responding to concerns from the Asian American community. But no props to Paramount. We’re still pretty bitter about the whole Last Airbender movie debacle.

io9.com Marvel responds to pressure, says they’ll cast Runaways hero Nico as Asian-American in the film

This is good news to fans of the books, where Nico’s racial background is portrayed as important to her character. Certainly it isn’t her main character trait, but her race is just as much a part of her character as her family history is – and family history is a major issue in Runaways. The comic is about a bunch of superpowered teenagers who discover their parents are supervillains and decide to rebel against them…The new casting call does ask for Asian-Americans to try out for the role. Previously, the casting call just asked for somebody “uniquely beautiful.”

ICv2: Marvel Changes ‘Runaways’ Casting Call

In the original casting call announcement, no mention of Nico’s ethnicity was included—a default setting, which is generally used to designate parts for white actors. In contrast, the casting breakdown for Runaways character Alex Wilder, which was issued at the same time, clearly indicated that the character was African American.

Racebending.com, an online organization founded in the wake of Paramount’s decision to cast a non-Asian as the lead in the big screen adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and members of the Asian American community complained to Marvel Studios about the casting notice for the character of Nico, and Marvel responded with a message to the online site

Digital Spy: ‘Runaways’ casting concerns addressed

ReezChannel.com: Marvel’s Runaways Changes Start Date and Casting Requirements

When the initial casting notice for the movie was released, the race of the female roles was left ambiguous and unspecific. Racebending immediately pointed out that one of the characters, Nico Minoru, was, in fact, Asian American, but only described in the casting notice as “uniquely beautiful” without mentioning that Asian American actresses would be best suited for the role.

Backstage Magazine – Expresso: With Great Power: Marvel Scores for Casting Diversity

Marvel and diversity-department representatives from Disney responded to a subsequent campaign to have the notice revised by opening a dialogue with the website’s operators and other groups. Last week, Marvel sent a letter to Racebending.com informing the site that the “Runaways” casting notice had been changed to specify that Nico is Asian-American and that the deadline for taped audition submissions had been extended to Sept. 15.

“Marvel was respectful and attentive to our concerns and provided the Asian-American community with a swift and thoughtful response,” Racebending.com co-founder Marissa Lee said. “We were very relieved and excited to hear that Marvel’s goal is to cast an Asian American.”