Photo via @ComicsintheGA/Twitter
August 31, 2021, 11:31 am
Rumors that David Oyelowo may star in the reboot of the 1991 film The Rocketeer in addition to producing it with his wife has right-wingers already decrying the upcoming movie as “woke” for making the superhero character a Black man instead of yet another square-jawed white guy.
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The casting decisions for the fictional stunt pilot Cliff Secord, who becomes The Rocketeer after discovering a rocket pack stolen by gangsters, have not been finalized, and the outrage seems to be entirely based on unsourced reporting by various pop culture news outlets.
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Either way, we hope the rumors are true, because conservatives crying “woke” about a comic book character who spent much of his time fighting Nazis is already funny.
“I’m not gonna watch your woke regurgitation of my favorite superhero Disney, let The Rocketeer fly free of your political garbage, support the original when the imposter comes out!” said one angry fan.
The original Rocketeer first appeared in a comic book in 1982 and was set in 1938, just before the second World War. The hero quickly catches attention for his jet-packed good deeds and is pursued relentlessly by Nazis, who originally stole the rocket pack and want it for their evil plots. The original comic could almost be called anti-fascist, maybe.
The 1991 film was starred by Billy Campbell, also known for his role as a vampire hunter in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and as the villain in Enough. He is also an avid fan of Star Trek, known for promoting “woke” ideas such as “Black people exist and do things sometimes,” nearly getting cast as William Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
It’s unclear which of these original Nazi-punching Rocketeers conservatives are so concerned about Oyelowo maybe replacing.
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Cries from racists about franchises becoming “woke” due to any hint of diversity being sprinkled in seem to echo the neo-Nazi conspiracy theory known as the “great replacement,” which states that there is a massive plot to wipe out the white race entirely. This hysteria isn’t even limited to TV and film franchises, with Republicans routinely crying “woke” over everything from U.S. military policy to breakfast cereals.
Those who are happy to allow talented and highly accomplished creatives such as Oyelowo to do what they want after being hired by the company that owns the franchise in question to do just that are more than a little tired of having to hear this type of racist whining every time it happens.
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*First Published: August 31, 2021, 11:31 am
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