Earlier this month, we learned that The Eternals would feature the MCU’s first openly gay male lead, and while we’ve yet to receive any official confirmation that that’s indeed going to be the case, it was hardly the first indication we’ve seen that Marvel Studios is making every effort they can to address the lack of LGBTQ representation in their movies.
Last November, for example, executive vice president of production Victoria Alonso pointed out in an interview with the BBC that “the gay community has not been represented whatsoever,” adding, “I’m gay, so I can tell you that I would long for that.” And earlier this week, at the Captain Marvel premiere, she spoke once more about it, telling Variety that the time’s right to bring a gay superhero into the franchise.
She’s not the only one who thinks that, either. Speaking to The Wrap a couple of days ago, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige also touched on the topic of diversity in the MCU and made clear that Black Panther was not a one-off and though he didn’t comment specifically on if we can expect to see more LGBTQ representation, he did say that diversity is not something the studio will be shying away from in the future.
“People also ask sometimes bout Black Panther. So, the notion of representation on screen, in front of and behind the camera, somebody asked me once, so is Black Panther a one-off? This is the future. This is the way the world is, and the way, certainly, our studio’s going to be run going forward, because it brings about better stories. The more diverse the group of people making the movie is, the better the stories.”
Already, the future for Marvel Studios and the MCU looks to promise more diversity, with Captain Marvel finally giving the franchise its first female solo lead. Beyond that, the much anticipated Black Widow film is now gearing up to head into production and Feige even told us last year that the majority of superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will soon be women.
Black Panther 2, meanwhile, is also on the way, and though the release slate of Marvel’s Phase 4 is still pretty mysterious, it’s clear that Alonso, Feige, and their peers have some big plans in mind for how to bring more representation into this most beloved cinematic universe.
