Last December, Miles Morales was first introduced to audiences in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, proving that folks had no problem relating to a Spider-Man who was a person of color. Wouldn’t it be cool, then, if Marvel could give us a wall-crawler who was part of the LGBT community at some point in the future to further make the Spider-verse more of an inclusive place?
Tom Holland certainly thinks so. In an interview with The Sunday Times, the Spider-Man: Far From Home star was asked if it was feasible that a gay Spider-Man could make it into the movies eventually and the actor’s answer was “of course.” He also went on to promise that there will be much better representation across the board in the MCU in the years to come.
“I can’t talk about the future of the character because, honestly, I don’t know, and it’s out of my hands. But I do know a lot about the future of Marvel, and they are going to be representing lots of different people in the next few years.”
This is definitely not an empty promise from Holland, as Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige has likewise decreed that the MCU will really focus on diversifying its roster of heroes in Phase Four. Some of the milestones to come include the first gay lead, who will appear in The Eternals, and the MCU’s first Asian superhero in Shang-Chi. Fans also want to see such characters as the African-American Ironheart and Namor (often viewed as being of an Asian heritage).
As for the chances of a gay Spider-Man, specifically, Holland likely won’t be replaced as Peter Parker for a long while yet – rumors point to a further seven movies starring him, at least – but FFH does open the doors to the Marvel multiverse, so there’s nothing stopping an alternate Spider who’s LGBT from showing up in the MCU in time.