The comic book world has been getting a little more racially diverse in the past couple of days, as Marvel has announced that on the page, Peter Parker’s replacement as Spider-man will be half-African American and half-Hispanic, and now Warner/DC has revealed that Laurence Fishburne will be playing newspaper editor Perry White in Man Of Steel, according to the LA Times.
The Perry White character first appeared in the early 1940s Superman comics as a tough but fair-minded boss with high standards. The character has always been white (and was famously played by Jackie Coogan in the Christopher Reeve Superman movies), but there’s no reason he has to be, and it’s rather that nice that those in charge of casting – who it’s usually said can’t see past that kind of thing – have given Fishburne the job.
Zack Snyder is directing Man from a script penned by David S. Goyer, who developed the story with Christopher Nolan. Henry Cavill will play Superman, aka Clark Kent, with Amy Adams as Lois Lane. Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Michael Shannon are also starring. The film is shooting this summer.
Incidentally, many say that it is almost unwitting racism in casting that is the biggest problem non-white actors face in Hollywood. For example, it’s claimed that most of the time, unless a director specifically requests an African-American or Hispanic person, the only actors a casting agent will put forward are white people, whether the role needs a caucasian or not. Hoepfully one day this won’t be true, and perhaps having an African American Perry White is a tiny step towards that.