Spider-Man’s successful integration into the Marvel Cinematic Universe was proof if there ever was proof (and there was) that Disney could handle any potential thorn in their side with the minimum of fuss. But with the web-slinger still proving to be a box office hit, what other markets are left for them to tap now?
Well, according to sources close to WGTC – the same ones who told us Marvel was eyeing Daniel Radcliffe for Moon Knight, Transformers is being rebooted and John Cena is playing Vin Diesel’s brother in Fast & Furious 9, all of which have now been confirmed – the studio wants to make one of the characters in Spidey’s franchise gay. Specifically, Tony Revolori’s Flash Thompson.
It’s unclear when this would happen – maybe in Spider-Man 3? – or how far they would go with their depiction of his sexuality, but we’re told it’s definitely being discussed. And while it could work out should they handle it properly, the cynic in me has a couple of contentions here.
Most prominent is something I touched on earlier. Marvel, and by extension, Disney are looking to tap into every market under the sun and the LGBT community represents a gap for them to exploit. It’s actually surprising they haven’t made inroads there sooner. The second, and slightly nebulous point though contends whether the sexuality of our heroes is something to define ourselves by, but until it’s normalized in mainstream culture, I understand why it remains a news story.
Truth be told, whatever Disney’s motivations are behind this mooted character choice (egalitarian? unlikely), at least the invisible hand means we’ll have more gay figures in Hollywood than not. Progress with BAME representation at the movies has been visible, but there remains a paucity of gay/lesbian/denomination of choice icons for viewers to get behind. The more the merrier I say.
In any case, if Disney do follow-through with their Spider-Man plan, it’ll certainly be a good thing. It might be as tacked on as LeFou’s Beauty and the Beast cameo (you can do better fellas), but still, it’s something to work on. Besides, Spider-Man 3 will be a smash no matter what, so there’s plenty of room for all, right?
