For all of the MCU’s trailblazing success – $17.2 billion and counting – there is one area that Marvel Studios has arguably failed to properly address: LGBTQ representation.
They’ve had their chances, too; first came Valkyrie, an openly bisexual character introduced during Thor: Ragnarok (and, hopefully, one that’s about to reappear at some point in the not-so-distant future), before Black Panther‘s creative team chose to quietly ignore that lesbian romance in the Dora Milaje as it was originally told in the comics.
Be that as it may, Marvel Studios is about to boost diversity across the board, after Ant-Man and the Wasp producer Stephen Broussard reaffirmed the company’s commitment to add more LGBTQ characters and storylines going forward.
For sure, you will see that. I know it can be frustrating if you’re part of a group that wants to see more representation and the answer is always ‘stay tuned’ – I can imagine that that’s frustrating. But that is happening behind the scenes, you’re going to be seeing that more and more. Representation across individual groups in the years ahead.
Those comments echo that of Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, who told members of the press just last month that future MCU movies will cast the spotlight on the LGBTQ community in some shape or form.
It doesn’t have to be anything particularly extravagant or indulgent, either, simply by acknowledging a character’s sexuality will Marvel be able to challenge the outdated narrative that gay characters don’t belong in a Hollywood blockbuster. Now all we need is for the Powers That Be to announce a Valkyrie spinoff and they’ll be well on their way. Fingers crossed, eh?
