6 worse casting choices than DiCaprio as Rumi

The screenwriter of "The Gladiator," David Franzoni, has agreed to work on a biopic about the famed 13th-century mystic, scholar and poet Jalaluddin al-Rumi, claiming the film "will challenge Muslim stereotypes," according to The Guardian .

It all sounds great, considering it's a major step for the Hollywood scene to finally make a positive film revolving around a Muslim character, until you learn that the director said he would like to cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Rumi and Robert Downey Jr. as Shams of Tabriz, although no official decision has been made yet.

Regardless, it's a film about two of the greatest Middle Eastern poets without even a slight consideration of casting a Middle Easterner in the film.

Whitewashing in Hollywood is not something new, with the most recent controversy being the cast of "Gods of Egypt," in which the filmmaker and director apologized for their casting choices after heavy criticism.

Since the announcement happened, many have voiced their opinion on the matter, with a petition being shared to let the producers of the potential film know that #RumiWasntWhite.

We wondered what is next as Hollywood turns more of it's attention to the Middle East's legends and stories. Please don't let any of these come true:

While casting directors often defend themselves by saying they're choosing the best actor for the role and not taking race into consideration, we bet they wouldn't cast George Clooney as Barack Obama.

However, ff they want to prove us wrong, we think they should cast Taim Hasan or Bassel Khayyat  in a film about the life of Thomas Jefferson, and see how Americans react.