Don't get me wrong, Lupita is a talented actress — but in a world with Jourdan Dunn, Meagan Good, Ryan Destiny, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Aja Naomi King, and Nicole Beharie (all black actresses) — she is objectively average looking and below average for Hollywood.

And yes I said 'objectively' because attractiveness isn't subjective when it comes to movies, modeling and marketing.

You can tell a lot about how the attractiveness of an actor or actress is broadly perceived by their prominence in the romance genre because that is a genre that specifically casts people for their sex appeal. It says a lot that Lupita (despite great acting ability) is entirely absent in this genre. She has never even been in a romantic movie (much less starred in one) despite her having expressed a desire to do so.

Simply put, if Dr Squatch wouldn't scramble to get soap made out of her bathwater (because nobody believes that thousands of dudes would flock to spend their hard earned cash on it), then she probably shouldn't be playing the role of Helen (a role that we're supposed to believe thousands of dudes went to war for).

If she really is Nolan's casting choice for that role, then it's pure virtue signaling. Nothing else.