Australian filmmaker Alex Proyas has had to issue an apology for how he cast Gods of Egypt, an action fantasy movie shot in Sydney that has proven controversial for featuring predominantly white actors. 
After criticism that followed the release of the poster and trailer this month, the director of Dark City, I, Robot and Knowing issued a statement indicating that he had erred in casting the movie set in ancient mythical Egypt.
"The process of casting a movie has many complicated variables but it is clear that our casting choices should have been more diverse," Proyas said. "I sincerely apologise to those who are offended by the decisions we made."
The $US140 million movie centres on a young human thief, played by former Home and Away star Brenton Thwaites, who enlists the help of the gods to bring his beloved (Australian actress and model Courtney Eaton from Mad Max: Fury Road) back from the dead.
Ireland's Gerard Butler, Australia's Geoffrey Rush and Denmark's Nikolaj Coster-Waldau play the Egyptian gods Set, Ra and Horus respectively.
The cast also includes fellow Australians Abby Lee, Bryan Brown and Emma Booth, England's Rufus Sewell, American Chadwick Boseman and France's Elodie Yung.
The studio releasing the film, Lionsgate, also issued an apology, saying: "We recognise that it is our responsibility to help ensure that casting decisions reflect the diversity and culture of the time periods portrayed. In this instance we failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity, for which we sincerely apologise.
"Lionsgate is deeply committed to making films that reflect the diversity of our audiences."