Though Marvel TV in its previous iteration is at this point all but extinct, there is still much to discuss about the now-canceled flagship of the Netflix/Marvel collaboration, Daredevil. Speaking on a livestream organized by the #SaveDaredevil campaign, actor Peter Shinkoda, who played Nobu, leader of The Hand, revealed that Jeph Loeb, then-head of Marvel TV, had purposefully cut storylines for his character while claiming “nobody cares about Chinese people and Asian people.”
One of the most glaring problems with “Daredevil” and its partner show “The Defenders” were their slight and stereotypical portrayals of their Asian characters, when they weren’t just part of a faceless mob of ninjas for the eponymous hero to beat up. That disregard appears to extend behind the cameras, as Shinkoda revealed that Loeb, who exited the company last fall once Marvel TV was absorbed into Marvel Studios, following Kevin Feige’s promotion to Chief Creative Officer for Marvel, forced the writers room to scrap plans to focus more on Nobu and expand upon his relationship with Madame Gao, played by Wai Ching Ho.
“Jeph Loeb told the writer’s room not to write for Nobu and Gao. This was reiterated many times by many of the writers and showrunners that ‘Nobody cares about Chinese people and Asian people. There were three previous Marvel movies — a trilogy called “Blade” — where Wesley Snipes kills 200 Asians each movie. Nobody gives a shit. So don’t write about Nobu and Gao.’ And they were forced to put their storylines down and drop it.”
On Twitter, Shinkoda elaborated on other ways in which he and actress Wai Ching Ho were excluded, having not been invited to the Season 2 premiere event:
In the same thread, Shinkoda states that “the only reason I’m speaking now is I have an iota of a chance to get through this unscathed. Open my mouth a few years earlier….and I’m dead in the water. I feel the timing is right.”
It’s also not the first time that Loeb has come under fire for insensitivity and racism – one time dressing up in a karate gi for a Comic Con reveal for “Iron Fist”, a show which had plenty of problems on its own. Though Loeb is out at Marvel Studios, he is still credited as Executive Producer on the upcoming show “Helstrom.” The full panel can be watched below – Shinkoda’s comments on his treatment on “Daredevil” begin around the 10-minute mark.