There are blockbusters that seem destined to fail long before they hit theaters. Especially painful was the case of ‘The Lone Ranger’, as it ended up being a most esteemed work, especially its sublime last act. I can’t say the same with others, this being the case of ‘Gods of Egypt’, a film that It outraged both audiences and critics.
A few days ago we told you about the controversy over whitewashing that occurred in the case of ‘The Great Wall’, but what happened with the film directed by Zhang Yimou It remains small compared to the one that concerns us now. And it is something that began to be talked about even before the start of filming, but that exploded in a big way when the promotional campaign for ‘Gods of Egypt’ began, as the complaints began to pile up on social networks.
An accumulation of controversies
No one understood the decision not to sign a single Egyptian actor, since, with the relative exception of Gerard Butler, the cast did not have any big stars in its cast, so the criticism began to pile up to the point that they had no choice but to apologize for having a too white cast. An unprecedented move by both Alex Proyasfilm director, as of Lionsgatethe studio behind her.
Several actors in the film also spoke about it. For example, Nikolaj Coster-Waldauthe unforgettable Jaime Lannister from ‘Game of Thrones’, stressed that he didn’t even want to play an Egyptian, but he knew that “you can’t win this kind of argument“. For his part, Chadwick Boseman (‘Black Panther’) stated that he expected such a controversy since he read the script, but that he wanted to appear in the film so that “we saw someone of African descent playing Thoth“. Resignation seemed to be the prevailing sentiment.
However, Proyas fueled the controversy a few weeks before the premiere by trying clarify what happenednoting limitations on the part of the studio and Australia, where the film was shot, when it came to casting and agreeing that Hollywood had a problem with diversity, but also stating that ‘Gods of Egypt’ “is not the most appropriate film to raise these questions“.
after receiving multitude of bad reviewsthe box office failure was not long in coming, and it was then that Proyas mercilessly attacked the professional critics with a harsh message in which the following stands out: “I guess I have a knack for getting along badly with critics; I always do it. This time, of course, they have big axes to sharpen; they can destroy my film while trying to make their pale asses look politically correct while yelling “white cleaning!”. Like the disturbed idiots they all are“.
‘Gods of Egypt’ finally raised 150 million dollars when its production cost had been 140 million, to which must be added another 30 million for its marketing campaign. The losses caused by the film were estimated at about 90 million dollars. Obviously, any possible sequel plans were scrapped and Proyas hasn’t released a feature film since then. A pity, that we owe him titles like ‘El Cuervo’, ‘Dark City’ or ‘Signs of the future’.
‘Gods of Egypt’ is broadcast tonight on Cuatro starting at 10:45 p.m.