Changes from source-material

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

So, this might be a controversial topic. Since the 17th Shard is the nicest place on internet, I think we can handle it, but if the mods disagree, they can close this. 

Anyway, what do you all think about changing the genders, ethnicities, etc for characters in fiction, when adapting the source material? For example, the cast for the Artemis Fowl movie was announced today, and they gender-changed commander Root from male to female (Judi Dench will play him/her). Another example is when people got mad about the casting of Iron Fist, because it was promoting bad tropes and was whitewashing.

What is everyones opinion on stuff like this? Good? Bad? Depends on the situation?

[LevenThumps]

This is always a difficult topic for me.  I remember the uproar when the Human Torch was going to be played by Michael B. Jordan in the 2015 reboot, and his race was different from how the Human Torch was portrayed in the comics.  

As a general rule, I prefer characters to be portrayed as close to the original source material as possible.  When a casting choice is announced that differs, I'm still open to seeing how they'll portray the character, but I'm also worried that if the director wouldn't stay faithful to the source material in this regard, they may not stay faithful in other regards.  I remember hearing reports how the director of Fan4stic told the cast not to read any previous Fantastic 4 comics.  I get that adaptions can't be 1-1 in all regards; not everything in the book can be represented on the screen in the exact same way, but I still think they should be close.

I'll still probably go see Artemis Fowl.  I read the series as a kid and really enjoyed them, so I'm curious how the film will represent them.  I'm eager for a trailer now to get a feel for the film.