The director of a new Hollywood film called Gods Of Egypt which stars Gerard Butler has apologised for casting mostly white actors.
Australian film-maker Alex Proyas, who was born in Egypt, has issued a statement acknowledging the controversy sparked by the release of the film's first trailer two weeks ago.
Proyas said it is clear that casting choices for the film should have been more diverse.
Studio Lionsgate said it is deeply committed to making films that reflect the diversity of their audience and pledged to do better.
Bette Midler was one of those to react to the trailer, tweeting: "Movie, #GodsOfEgypt in which everyone is white? Egyptians, in history and today, have NEVER been white. BRING BACK GEOGRAPHY!! It's Africa!"
The film, which is released in February next year, also stars actor Chadwick Boseman, an African American, and actress Elodie Yung, who is French-Cambodian.
"We recognise that it is our responsibility to help ensure that casting decisions reflect the diversity and culture of the time periods portrayed," read Lionsgate's statement, first reported by Forbes.
"In this instance we failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity."
Selma director Ava DuVernay said the apology was an anomaly: "This kind of apology never happens - for something that happens all the time. An unusual occurrence worth noting."
The criticism follows other whitewashing controversies involving Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods And Kings and Aloha starring Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone.
Scott's film, which featured Christian Bale as Moses and Joel Edgerton as Ramses, was criticised last year for its predominantly white cast.
The director brushed off condemnations at the time, blaming the model of financing Hollywood movies for his choices.
He told trade publication Variety that he would not be able to get the film financed by casting "Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such".
"It's always art against economics," Scott told The Associated Press last December. "As soon as you're at the higher levels of budgeting, you've got to get the film made and the only way to support the film is to have actors who can support the budget."
Hollywood has a long tradition of casting white actors as other ethnicities, but lately the practice is not going unchallenged and is often put under scrutiny as soon as castings are announced, as was the case with Joe Wright's Pan, where Rooney Mara played Tiger Lily.
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