Tim Burton, your diversity excuse sucks — here’s how to cast ‘Miss Peregrine’s’

Tim Burton has a diversity problem. It’s no secret that Burton’s many films have predominantly white casts, which is why Samuel L. Jackson’s big supporting role in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is so surprising. Jackson appears to be the first non-white actor with a major role in a Burton film. He is also, however, the only non-white actor in the movie. When asked by Bustle about the film’s diversity, or lack thereof, Burton gave this lackluster answer: “Things either call for things, or they don’t.”

Given his answer, it’s clear that Burton has never bothered to wonder why his films lack diversity. He seems to suffer from the same view that plagues Hollywood: unless a character is written with a specific ethnicity in mind, the default is that said character is white. And even if the character’s ethnicity is specified, in Hollywood, it can always be changed to be white (just look at Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell). But Burton’s answer also suggests one very important thing — that Miss Peregrine’s does not call for diversity and that it couldn’t possibly warrant an interracial cast. Well, Burton, you’re wrong; and to prove it, here are just a few non-white actors that could have been cast in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. (Note: gender and age of characters reflect those in the film, not the book.)