After an African prince and a Muslim superheroine, the Marvel films introduce a Jewish superheroine into their universe.
Shira Haas, an Emmy nominee for the series
Unorthodox
, has been cast as Sabra in the upcoming Captain America movie, dubbed
Captain America: New World Order
.
Disney and Marvel Studios announced the news on September 11 at the D23 Expo 2022, a convention dedicated to the Disney universe.
While the franchises have been striving for several years to make minorities visible and increase their diversity, this time the announcement sparked strong reactions within the Palestinian and Lebanese communities.
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A mutant agent of the Mossad, the Israeli secret service, Sabra appears for the first time in the
Incredible Hulk
comic in 1980, wearing a white bodysuit and a blue cape attached by a Star of David.
In a 1981 issue of
Hulk
, Sabra showed little emotion over the death of a Palestinian boy in an explosion,
"until the Hulk enlightened him on basic human values," the
New York Times
explains .
.
A passage that Internet users did not fail to recall on Twitter, where the hashtag
“CaptainApartheid”
quickly appeared.
The
New York Times
also explains that the anger of Internet users would come from the name of the heroine.
If Sabra can designate for Israeli Jews a person born in Israel, it is also the name of a refugee camp in Lebanon
“where a Christian militia massacred hundreds of Palestinians under the gaze of Israeli troops
”.
The Lebanese commemorate precisely this year the 40th anniversary of this terrible episode in their history.
In the face of criticism, Marvel defended itself to
Variety
, promising a
"new approach"
to the character for the film, the script of which has not yet been finalized.
“Although our characters and stories are inspired by the comics, they are always refreshed and reimagined for today's screen and audience.
The directors will take a new approach with the character of Sabra
,” the studio said.
Marvel also regularly calls on cultural consultants
"to ensure that the studio does not reinforce harmful stereotypes"
, specifies the American magazine.
In June, the Disney+ platform unveiled
Miss Marvel
, a series featuring the first Muslim superheroine.
Premiere
recalls that the Marvel studio had, for the film
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
,
completely redesigned the character of the father,
“racist stereotype named Fu Manchu in the comics, reimagined as Xu Wenwu by
Tony Leung
in the film”
.
Read alsoOur review of
Miss Marvel
, sparkling superheroine of diversity on Disney +
Shira Haas will star in
Captain America: New World Order
, alongside Anthony Mackie, introduced as the main hero by the
Falcon and the Winter Soldier
miniseries .
Disney has set the film's release date for May 3, 2024.
