Where's the diversity in science fiction and fantasy?

John Boyega
John Boyega in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'
Courtesy Walt Disney Studios

Although television shows like "Sleepy Hollow" and "The Walking Dead" have cast actors of color in major and non-stereotypical roles, does this really herald a "post-racial" period in entertainment?

Not really, critics say. Minority actors claim only about 5 percent of lead roles on network television and about 14 percent on cable.

Recently, the buzz over the release of the new Star Wars trailer "quickly morphed into a social media firestorm, when some fans of the sci-fi films took to Twitter to decry the presence of a black stormtrooper," played by John Boyega, in the footage," says a report on Huffington Post.

More from Huffington Post:

Boyega addressed the controversy in an Instagram post, telling people to "get used to it."

"I think this is more about people's imaginations being hijacked and there being this idea of who can be inside of science fiction and who can be in fantasy and what those worlds should look like," Ytasha L. Womach, author of "Afrofuturism" and a filmmaker, said.

On The Daily Circuit, we look at the state of diversity in science fiction films, TV and books.

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