Outgoing Legends of Tomorrow star Keiynan Lonsdale – who plays Wally West/Kid Flash – has spoken about how he’d like to see more LGBT superheroes in the Marvel and DC movie universes. The Arrowverse, which he’s a part of, features a number of gay or bisexual leading characters, like Sara Lance or Alex Danvers, but unfortunately comic book cinema has yet to catch up with superhero TV.
While speaking with Too Fab about his role in Love, Simon, the teen romantic drama praised for its LGBT characters, Lonsdale was asked if he thinks movies like that one will open the door for better representation in the superhero genre. The actor seemed very positive about the chances, saying “We will see it, 100 percent.” He then elaborated further, stating:
“I’m super excited to find out where it all goes. Like 100 percent going to have queer superheroes and queer superheroes of color and it’s gonna be an incredible array of stories, I know it, for sure.”
Let’s hope Lonsdale knows what he’s talking about. Over the last few years, fans have become frustrated with how Marvel and DC are avoiding clarifying canonically queer characters’ sexualities on screen – case in point, Thor: Ragnarok‘s Valkyrie or even Wonder Woman herself. And then you have Black Panther, which seems to have removed a gay romance subplot during production.
At least there’s Deadpool 2 though, which thankfully broke the mold by featuring a romance between Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Yukio, making them the first gay superheroes in a Marvel movie. The characters didn’t go so far as to kiss, but this outright confirmation is still miles ahead of what the MCU and the DCEU have given us to date.
Maybe the Legends of Tomorrow star is right, then, and the changing times will be enough to push some boundaries in the next few years. Personally, I think the actor may be on to something and we could see some breakthroughs happen in Phase Four and whatever’s next for DC, but only time will tell.
