same brain as Snatch, wearing its pop style on its sleeve a Kill Bill-like mix of martial arts, manga and gabby hitman movie influences, minus the vision or wit that implies." Representation of race in casting The casting of several non-Asian actors, including Brad Pitt and Joey King, prompted accusations of whitewashing characters who were Japanese in Kōtarō Isaka's novel. David Inoue, executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League, criticized the casting, explaining that while American actors would have been appropriate if the setting were changed to the United States, the filmmakers used the novel's Japanese setting while keeping Japanese characters in the film's background, strengthening charges of whitewashing. Inoue also questioned the actors' allyship to the Asian community for knowingly accepting whitewashed roles, and further criticized the film for pushing the "belief that Asian actors in the leading roles cannot carry a blockbuster", despite the recent successes of Asian-led films such as Crazy Rich Asians (2018) or Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). King appeared in the film despite having previously said "I do not believe a white woman should play a character of color. Not me or any other white woman for that matter." Eric Francisco of Inverse wrote, "Unless you saw the individual character posters, you'd be unlikely to think Bullet Train actually stars any Asian talent. Hollywood supposedly doesn't cast Asian leads because they aren't stars, but the truth is, they aren't stars because Hollywood won't cast Asian leads. How can audiences get excited about buying tickets to see Asian actors when their existence in a movie is barely acknowledged?" When asked about the casting, Isaka defended the film and described his characters as "ethnically malleable", maintaining that his original Japanese setting and context were irrelevant as they were "not real people, maybe they're not even Japanese." Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group president Sanford Panitch highlighted Isaka's views to defend the casting, reassuring that the film would honor the novel's "Japanese soul" while giving the opportunity to cast big name stars and adapt it on a "global scale". Bullet Train screenwriter Zak Olkewicz argued that the decision to cast beyond Japanese or Asian actors proved "the strength of [Isaka]'s work" as it was a story that could "transcend race". Director David Leitch noted that discussions had taken place during pre-production to change the film's setting, but it was ultimately decided to keep