I like the tone of this petition. I hope most of the comments directed towards the director and the cast can maintain this level of respect. Sadly it rarely does nowadays. If the feedback gets too toxic, Lauren is more likely to just dismiss the comments as trolls or racists, when it really is about fans of the series and the character as she existed in the source material that made them interested in a film adaptation in the first place.

It depends on what country the lawsuit is filed and where the company is headquartered. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/03/01/google-accused-lawsuit-excluding-white-and-asian-men-hiring-boost-diversity/387532002/

Honestly, if the character portrayed is fictional (As in, not based off a real person) and the color of their skin is not a key plot or thematic element to the story, it really shouldn't matter what race is chosen to portray them.

Ciri's skin color is not an important part of the story and she comes from a fantasy novel/game, I see no reason why Zoe Saldana or whoever else couldn't play her.

If you are offended by this, you might be a bit racist and not know it.

You are so wrong. A character should be portrayed as closely as possible to the original material or it risks being a bastardization. More importantly, there are thematic reasons in the story of the books that make changing her race a HUGE departure from the original story. This is nothing but a pathetic attempt at "diversity" while disregarding the original story these execs are leeching from to make their bucks.

Also, shame on you for that last sentence. What you said is absolute BS. Accusing those who disagree with you of racism is typical of those with an agenda and no capacity of respecting views other than their own. My gf and I are pissed off about this stupid decision and neither of us is white. Are we white supremacists for wanting an important character to remain the way she was written?.

You are so wrong. A character should be played by whoever is best for the role. If their race is not relevant to the plot or they're not portraying a real person, then there's no reason James Bond can't be black, Ciri can't be an ethnic minority, or Heimdall can't be played by Idriss Elba.  Changing Ciri's ethnicity doesn't change the story AT ALL, nor does it compromise the plot or bastardize the character. Literally all it does is give a spotlight to a minority that might not have gotten it otherwise. 

That, and offend racists who hate the idea of being a slightly smaller majority than they already are. 

Absolutely wrong. The character should remain as they were written. I'm a Bond fan so I've had this discussion several times already. And of course it changes the story!. Are you freaking kidding me?. Do you know anything about the original books?. There is a region in the Witcher world that is a proxy for Africa and some characters of darker skin come from there. If you change the ethnicity of Ciri then you must change the ethnicity of her entire family and the story with it. Why is this necessary?. 

"Literally all it does is give a spotlight to a minority that might not have gotten it otherwise. "

Why the fuck does this story have to give a spotlight to a minority?. Is there some kind of "sacred law" in the US/UK that all book/game/comic adaptations are required by law to give minorities a spotlight?. Even if the circumstances in the original story do not allow for such a spotlight, nor is it needed?. If the main cast of a book is white, then they should be kept like that in the adaptation. I would say the same thing about any comic, book, video game or whatever other medium and if the circumstances were reversed and Ciri was black in the book, I would be just as pissed about this.

Let me ask you something, just so we are clear, if someone tomorrow decided to adapt a fantasy book series with an important character who happens to be black, and decided to portray that character with a white actor/actress, would that be okay?. Would it be okay with you?. Would the mainstream media respect that decision?. After all, "it's just a fantasy character" who cares who portrays the role as long as they have the acting skills right?. 

"That, and offend racists who hate the idea of being a slightly smaller majority than they already are. "

You keep spouting the same old BS. Those who disagree with you aren't racists, they just care about the story in a different way than you do. Learn to accept that.

Unless they're white though! Which is the case with this casting call. For a character who is white in the original fiction no less.

Globally, those of European descent are not a majority. Not even close. You have to have known this though, so I'm assuming the majority you're referring to is that of representation in movie and TV roles produced in the western world?

If a character should be played by whoever is best for the role, why limit the races that can apply at all? You think you're defending her, but you're undermining what the director is doing here, which is deliberating NOT casting who's best for the role based on them being best for the role. And you're the racist one, for not wanting an original minority character instead and being fine with a coat of black paint put over a white character. The source character is white. You can't just color them black for brownie points and be a good little diversity advocate.

In this book series, magic isnt that uncommon (like 1 out of 10 people probably have some form of minor magics).
However they draw power from differnt places, in the book refered to as "warrens" (basically differnt dimensions, where magic of that type comes from) (and usually home to some minor god).  Its not too common however for a mage to be able to draw power from or controll more than a few warrens.

Quick ben, was with a group of mages trying to escape a malazan attack..... the malazan chased them accross the desert.
Tired and dehidrated, and basically chased to death, each of the mages (in turn as they where dieing) choose to sacrifice themselfs (in a magically ritual) to quick ben, so that he might live.

Thats what makes him "kickass".
He has the souls of 12 others inside him (and the voices to go with it), inside 1 body.
Hes smarter than most, and is able to acccess ALOT of differnt warrens, and this also gives him the ability to make use of upwards of 10 warrens at once (something most other mages consider borderline suicidal to attempt).

Nice that a casting call that is done just for the sake of virtue signalling other SJWs actually shows who the real racists are.  These people only see color.  Not different ethnic/cultural backgrounds.  So all whites are just white to them, which mean they are to be excluded.  All blacks are just that, black.  And so on and so forth for other POC.  The fact that they actually have an acronym for a call for anyone who's not white, says it all.  They don't care about the character or the acting ability, they are just looking for any token actor to push forward and show how "progressive" they are.

Personally, I've always wanted someone to say that they were making a Jeffersons movie, but as a joke/experiment release a trailer with an all white cast.  Watch the hypocrites have a true meltdown.

The thing with your example is that they are not on the same level.  For one, you aren't going to find many people who are that passionate about Aquaman, or DCEU for that matter.  Second, Jason Mamoa does look like Aquaman's redesign where he had one hand, albeit with two hands and Samoan.   And third, there didn't really seem like an agenda behind the casting choice.  I bet it was as simple as them seeing him with long hair and a beard in another film and thought he looked like the newer Aquaman. I could be wrong about the last point, but I don't really remember them pushing it like it was a big deal for "progress."

Starfire, on the other hand, has a passionate following recently thanks to the Teen Titans cartoons.  She looks nothing like her comic book counterpart, which has added insult in the fact that she actually looks like a low dollar prostitute.  Finally, her being black wouldn't really have gotten too much hate if she had lighter skin and was painted/costumed to look like the comics.  The reason it go so much hate was not only does she look nothing like her, but because it just screams forced diversity and, most importantly, the overall project looks like hot garbage.