It’s happened.
After years of reference by way of interviews and film dialogue, Disney-owned Marvel Studios has announced its first full-on-featured openly gay male superhero.
Studio President Kevin Feige broke the news on Good Morning America Monday, touting the upcoming film series The Eternals and its crew of characters — “the most diverse Marvel’s cast yet, including an openly gay character.”
Kevin explained that the super man’s sexuality will be presented along the lines of “no big deal”:
“He’s married, he’s got a family, and that is just part of who he is.”
Check out the video, starting at 1:38.
.@Disney's EPIC surprises! From #LizzieMcGuire to @DisneyFrozen 2 to @starwars #TheRiseOfSkywalker to #BlackPanther 2 — @Ginger_Zee has ALL the highlights!
Find more on all the incredible #D23Expo announcements here: https://t.co/EutVh4kPAM pic.twitter.com/P7jo6cfhDP
— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 26, 2019
Among the cast of Disney’s monumental move: Game of Thrones star Kit Harrington.
Plus: Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Kumail Nanjiani, and Brian Tyree Henry.
On the horizon, the character of Valkyrie in Marvel’s Thor series will soon be getting some same-sex screen time.
At Comic-Con in July, actress Tessa Thompson confirmed Valkyrie’s lesbian longing:
“As new king [of Asgard], she needs to find her queen. That will be the first order of business. She has some ideas. I’ll keep you posted.”
Marvel’s been on a path toward LGBT world-saving for quite some time. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, one of Peter Parker’s classmates was played by Zach Barack, a biological female who identifies as a man.
And in July, actor Tom Holland announced he’s open to Spidey himself coming out as gay.
Avengers: Endgame also got in on the evolutionary action. But, as observed by The Daily Wire, some found it inadequate:
While The Eternals will feature Marvel’s first openly gay male superhero, he won’t be the first openly gay character in the MCU. Avengers: Endgame, which dominated the box office this year, includes a character — named simply “Grieving Man” in the credits — participating in a support group hosted by Captain America/Steve Rogers. Grieving Man, played by co-director Joe Russo, tells the group that he’s dating another man, but it’s difficult to manage in the grim, “post-Snap” world. The moment was met with backlash from some critics, including Gizmodo’s Charles Pulliam-Moore, who were upset about the “inconsequential” manner in which the MCU’s first gay character was presented.
The superhero landscape is certainly changing. We’re turning a corner; surely much more is to come.
-ALEX
The Mouse Makes History: Disney Channel Features Its First Gay Teen Couple
The Mouse Makes History: Disney Park Holds The Company’s First-Ever Official Gay Pride Celebration
Find all my RedState work here.
And please follow Alex Parker on Twitter and Facebook.
Thank you for reading! Please sound off in the Comments section below.
If you have an iPhone and want to comment, select the box with the upward arrow at the bottom of your screen; swipe left and choose “Request Desktop Site.” If it fails to automatically refresh, manually reload the page. Scroll down to the red horizontal bar that says “Show Comments.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member