Marvel Studios landed in some soup when the latest poster for Avengers: Endgame didn’t have the name of Danai Gurira’s on it. It faced a lot of backlash for snubbing the actress despite her contribution towards the last war between the Avengers and Thanos in Infinity War. Soon after the controversy, Marvel Studios updated the poster and also apologised for missing out on her name.
Gurira, who plays Wakandan general Okoye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), appears on the poster but her name was missing from the top-billed cast.
Her name was listed in the lower credits, along with Jon Favreau, Benedict Wong, and Gwyneth Paltrow, whose characters are not part of the poster image. Gurira's omission attracted criticism on social media, with many claiming that Marvel disregarded the only strong black woman character of the MCU.
"She is the only black woman on that poster, the highest profile post-snappening Wakandan, a firm fan favourite, and freaking actual DANAI GURIRA to boot. Put some respect on her name, damn," read a tweet.
Another user said, "I mean, they've got Bradley Cooper's name in there and he's just the VOICE of Rocket. Danai Gurira is the ONLY person on the poster not to be listed by name."
"Um... why is the ONLY person who appears on this poster that is NOT credited Danai Gurira? I'm pretty sure that needs rectifying quickly Marvel! Mainly because she deserves her name up there just as much as everyone else. And also, because Okoye is Queen," said another person on Twitter.
Following the backlash, the studio updated the poster, adding Gurira's name alongside the likes of Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Robert Downey Jr.
"She should have been up there all this time," the company tweeted while sharing the new poster.
The studio on Thursday dropped the official trailer for "Avengers: Endgame", which is the final film within the MCU's current generation of superheroes. It comprises of 22 films, including "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and recently released "Captain Marvel".
The film will release on April 26.
