Two Hollywood A-listers lead the cast of the upcoming "Gods of Egypt" film and it is not without criticism.
The epic "Gods of Egypt" movie has been chastised not for its looming highly-CGI action-packed scenes, but for the basic reason of casting white men for roles obviously not for them. A report by CinemaBlend revealed that as "Gods of Egypt" trailer premiered, the movie, led by "Game of Thrones" cast Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Gerard Butler, has been receiving negative criticism, allegedly because of the racist casting.
According to the report, "When the first trailer for the Alex Proyas helmed film 'Gods of Egypt' premiered a couple of weeks ago, the outcry over the whitewashing (also known as racebending) of the cast was louder than any possible buzz about the story of the film."
It has taken weeks before "Gods of Egypt" responded to the allegations, with the director Alex Proyas and Lionsgate admitting to the casting mishap, and revealing apologies for the insensitivity the movie's casting may have caused.
Yahoo reported the apology for the predominantly white cast of "Gods of Egypt" and admitting to the fault of not being sensitive enough to catch the issue early during the film's development. "We recognize that it is our responsibility to help ensure that casting decisions reflect the diversity and culture of the time periods portrayed," revealed Lionsgate's statement on the matter.
"In this instance we failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity," it added.
While there have been a few other movies in the past that had almost the same criticisms, such issues don't necessarily translate to bad ratings and reception. Other movies that have gone through almost the same issue as "Gods of Egypt" casting include "A Mighty Heart" with Angelina Jolie in 2007 and Ridley Scott's "Exodus: Gods and King" last year.
The entire cast of "Gods of Egypt" arrives on Feb. 26.