July 2024 · 4 minute read

Jessica Alba criticized Marvel movies in a recent interview with Glamour UK, saying the franchise remains far too dominated by white actors. Alba is a veteran of the comic book film genre, having starred as Sue Storm in “Fantastic Four” (2005) and “Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer” (2007). Diversity was almost non-existent in superhero movies when Alba appeared in her two “Fantastic Four” movies. While the genre has been more inclusive as of late, Alba said it’s still “more of the same” these days.

“Even if you look at the Marvel movies – that’s the biggest driver of fantasy and what’s happening right now in entertainment, because it’s sort of the family thing – it’s still quite Caucasian,” Alba said. “I would say I was one of the few back in the day… And it was before Marvel was sold to Disney, but it’s still quite more of the same.”

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has made strides to diversify in recent years, most notably with the Oscar-winning blockbuster “Black Panther.” With the recent Disney+ premiere of “Ms. Marvel,” the Marvel Cinematic Universe got its first first on-screen Muslim superhero. “Shang-Chi” put an Asian-American hero front and center, while the upcoming fourth “Captain America” will see Anthony Mackie take over the title character.

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Alba continued, “I just think more for the younger people who are coming up, who are going to be our future leaders, it’s important for them to see the world on screen, or in stories, in the dreams that we create as entertainers; it reflects the world that they’re in.”

The actor has spoken out in the past about how being Mexican American limited her roles in Hollywood during the early 2000s. “They couldn’t figure out my ethnicity,” Alba told PopSugar in 2017. “I would always go out for ‘exotic.’ They were like, ‘You’re not Latin enough to play a Latina, and you’re not Caucasian enough to play the leading lady, so you’re going to be the “exotic” one.’ Whatever that was.”

Alba has mostly stayed away from acting in recent years in order to lead her business The Honest Company.

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