to be honest, I think you’re incorrect here and your comparison isn’t accurate here. a true comparison to men playing an Italian Juliet would be the black actors in questions playing italian people that are specifically written in the source material… which is weird and color washing. no ambiguous “they’re a fairy tale people” stuff. if they plan on keeping to the feel and historical context of the play (which I can’t tell from their marketing materials), then it’s honestly super weird for black actors to play white people. are they going to use Italian accents? are they all Moores now? or is canon thrown out the window? if so, why not just make a Lion King type production where it’s based on the Shakespeare story instead of just play itself? why can’t production companies create original, creative roles for bipoc actors that are memorable and put them in a spotlight in a positive way instead of doing this played out controversial marketing shit that companies KNOW will stir up trouble to generate interest on their productions.