We recently learned from Kevin Feige that Marvel will be introducing a transgender character to the MCU, and that they’re part of a film that’s currently shooting. Although we still don’t know what movie this will be, although our bet’s probably on Thor: Love and Thunder, Mark Ruffalo has been quick to voice his support for the decision, adding to a long history of promoting progressive causes via his social media.
In this case, Ruffalo shared a succinct “Go Marvel!!” comment when retweeting the news story, continuing his habit of enthusiastically reacting to MCU news from his employers. Some of the more recent remarks from Ruffalo have included everything from his pick for a She-Hulk actor to calling out Francis Ford Coppola’s criticism of the Marvel movies. In addition, Ruffalo has regularly used social media to thank fans for supporting the franchise, while occasionally letting slip some pretty big spoilers about films in the series.
More generally, Kevin Feige recently emphasized his support for improving diversity behind the camera, commenting on the female-directed Eternals and Black Widow coming from Marvel this year by saying:
“Both films we have coming out in 2020 are directed by women.”
Furthermore, the upcoming Marvel Disney Plus series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki will have female directors, with more shows on the way likely to be featuring female and LGBT production teams. In fact, the future for the MCU as a whole looks to be positive when it comes to diversity, with Captain Marvel 2 potentially featuring two LGBT relationships and Marvel reportedly planning to add two more gay heroes in Phase 5 of its development cycle.
While Marvel’s commitment to LGBT representation, and Ruffalo’s support for it, are bound to receive negative attention from the usual places, it’s fair to say that the studio are following through on their push for diversity in major blockbusters. Of course, there is a counter-argument that parent company Disney often include LGBT scenes in a fairly superficial way, including the recent Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, or cuts them for overseas release. For now, though, we’re happy to see that Feige is endorsing Marvel‘s progressive thinking and hopefully normalizing the introduction of more LGBT characters into the MCU.
