Once Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home are out of the way, Marvel Studios will be looking forward to The Eternals, which sounds like it’s going to define the future course of the MCU.
With immortal characters and a plot that reportedly spans millennia, the movie will reveal some of the deep history of the universe and perhaps even lay the seeds for the arrival of mutants in the franchise. The project’s currently in pre-production and That Hashtag Show has a very interesting bit of casting information, telling us that Marvel Studios wants the lead male role to go to an openly gay actor.
It’s well known that both Disney CEO Bob Iger and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige are eager to increase representation in their movies, with the huge success of Black Panther having given them validation that they’re on the right track. But which role could they be casting for here?
Well, we know that the leads for the movie will be Eternals Sersi and Ikaris, so perhaps Ikaris is the part they’ve got in mind. I also think it’s safe to assume that if they’re searching for an openly gay actor, then the character he plays will also be gay. We’ve seen numerous complaints about Hollywood casting straight actors as gay characters, so presumably they’re planning to nip this criticism in the bud right away.
If The Eternals does prove to have a gay hero front and centre, then expect your typical outpouring of frothing outrage from the chuddier corners of the internet. Take a look at the bile being tossed in the direction of Captain Marvel and the failed campaign to ruin Black Panther‘s box office chances for what might be coming. While The Eternals is certain to face an uphill battle in the international market if they go through with their plans, you’ve got to hand it to Disney and Marvel Studios for doing their bit to advance LGBTQI acceptance through their movies.
