In an unusual situation on the eve of a project's debut, the writer-producer, who worked on 'Moon Knight' and 'Blade', will no longer be promoting the show or moving forward with future seasons.
But at times social media had proven a challenge while making the series. In May 2023, DeMayo announced he would be deleting his Twitter account, after he was attacked by users accusing X-Men ’97 of whitewashing the character Sunspot with the casting of Brazilian actor Gui Agustini in the role.
He was accused of whitewashing by casting a Brazilian actor to play a Brazilian character?
I gotta go down that rabbit hole.
Edit: Looks like the controversy was race based as opposed to nationality, which is why my first search on the character Sunspot only mentioning the Brazilian nationality seemed weird at a glance. Fans going hardcore on accusations and it sounds like maybe some threats based on Beau’s responses. Sucks that every article is basically the same three paragraphs written slightly differently.
Sunspot is complicated as a character due to the printing technology at the time he was introduced.
It’s plain that he was intended to be a darker skinned Brazilian.
First appearance in Marvel Graphic Novel #4: New Mutants:
But the graphic novel had better printing technology than the comics and racial toning didn’t always come across well. Different artists also had different interpretations.
Yeah I’m reading through the Claremont run for the first time and I can’t think of an issue where he hasn’t been depicted with a darker skin tone. That coupled with the fact his African-Brazillian heritage is referenced on numerous occasions leads me to seriously question the motivation for subsequent creatives (including Beau) to erase that aspect of Sunspot’s character.
Ahhh I see. That second-from-last comic image where he’s dodging lasers was the first one I found, and I was like “Wait it says this is from 2016 and he kinda looks like this Agustini guy already?”
So the controversy actually predates the casting, it just brought it back to the forefront.
He was accused of whitewashing by casting a Brazilian actor to play a Brazilian character?
I gotta go down that rabbit hole.
Edit: Looks like the controversy was race based as opposed to nationality, which is why my first search on the character Sunspot only mentioning the Brazilian nationality seemed weird at a glance. Fans going hardcore on accusations and it sounds like maybe some threats based on Beau’s responses. Sucks that every article is basically the same three paragraphs written slightly differently.
Sunspot is complicated as a character due to the printing technology at the time he was introduced.
It’s plain that he was intended to be a darker skinned Brazilian.
First appearance in Marvel Graphic Novel #4: New Mutants:
But the graphic novel had better printing technology than the comics and racial toning didn’t always come across well. Different artists also had different interpretations.
So the movie casting set people off:
Yeah I’m reading through the Claremont run for the first time and I can’t think of an issue where he hasn’t been depicted with a darker skin tone. That coupled with the fact his African-Brazillian heritage is referenced on numerous occasions leads me to seriously question the motivation for subsequent creatives (including Beau) to erase that aspect of Sunspot’s character.
Ahhh I see. That second-from-last comic image where he’s dodging lasers was the first one I found, and I was like “Wait it says this is from 2016 and he kinda looks like this Agustini guy already?”
So the controversy actually predates the casting, it just brought it back to the forefront.