Ludi Lin is not happy about the lack of Asian representation in the upcoming Lord of the Rings prequel series, and had no problem letting Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke know about it on Twitter.
Responding to an Indiewire article in which Salke justified the fantasy adaptation's massive $465 Million Budget, the Mortal Kombat star pointed out that the sprawling take on Middle Earth she helped create is lacking in diversity.
"It’s going to be difficult to justify building a 'huge world' without any characters that look Asian. Turn that imagine on us @JSalke. It’s not hard, we’re right here," the Chinese Canadian actor Tweeted.
Looking at the show's cast, Lin does have a point. Most are white, and while there are some actors of color (including Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Sophia Nomvete, and Sir Lenny Henry), none of the announced 35 main cast members appear to be Asian (though they may identify as such).
Since LOTR is filming in New Zealand, a lot of the supporting cast members are Māori.
This prequel series is obviously more diverse than Peter Jackson's trilogy, which didn't feature a single non-white actor in any major role. But times have changed, and since Amazon clearly made the decision to modernize this take on J.R.R. Tolkien's world, then not including any Asian actors does feel like an oversight.
What do you guys make of Lin's comments? Let us know in the usual place, and check out an updated synopsis for Lord of the Rings below.
"The Lord of the Rings brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.
Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.”
LOTR is set to premiere in 2022.
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