As Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny continues to roll out around the world and scoop up some box office loot, Agent Mason herself Shaunette Renée Wilson discusses a tricky situation that arose on the set of the film, one that was quickly dealt with by director James Mangold to Wilsons satisfaction.
Wilson was hand-picked by director James Mangold to play Agent Mason in the major summer release. After a Zoom meeting with Mangold, she was cast and didn’t even have to audition, but when she received the script, she wanted to implement some changes.
“I was so jazzed, I was quite impressed by a lot of things, but I also had thoughts and wanted to make input about my character in particular. And the brilliance and wonder of James Mangold is his ability to collaborate, and he heard me out and he was very honest about it and took what I said and it was implemented in rewrites. That has been a wonderful part of this process — to actually be able to feel like you are integral and you have a point of view when it comes to what’s being written.”
“Well, I don’t want to spoil too much, but my character had a particular way of exiting the film, and initially I found it to be a little too offensive and a bit problematic, and I was like, ‘We probably don’t need to say these words or have it done this way, and this is something I’m uncomfortable with.’”
Praising Mangold’s collaboration, Wilson added, “He was like, ‘You know what, you’re completely right, I hear you. That’s something I flagged as well.’ And we were able to work on that.”
