Anthony Mackie says he's been "really bothered" by the MCU's lack of representation

After cementing Falcon into the MCU across numerous films and an imminent Disney+ series, Anthony Mackie is hoping he can make a positive impact on the franchise’s much-discussed problems with representation. The actor got candid about the issue during a recent installment of Variety’s “Actors On Actors” with Snowpiercer’s Daveed Diggs.

After Diggs asked how Mackie was responding to this current “moment”—referring to global calls for racial equality and justice following the murder of George Floyd—Mackie opened up about his experience in the MCU.

“When The Falcon And The Winter Soldier comes out, I’m the lead. When Snowpiercer came out, you’re the lead. We have the power and the ability to ask those questions,” he said. “It really bothered me that I’ve done seven Marvel movies where every producer, every director, every stunt person, every costume designer, every PA, every single person has been white.”

Mackie goes on to discuss Black Panther, the only Marvel film with both a Black filmmaker and a Black producer at the helm. “We’ve had one Black producer; his name was Nate Moore. He produced Black Panther. But then when you do Black Panther, you have a Black director, Black producer, a Black costume designer, a Black stunt choreographer. And I’m like, that’s more racist than anything else. Because if you only can hire the Black people for the Black movie, are you saying they’re not good enough when you have a mostly white cast?”