Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios, appears to have suggested a trans character will feature in an upcoming Marvel movie.
Feige took the stage at the New York Film Academy (NYFA) for an interview. During the audience Q&A section, one of those attending asked him: “Are there any current plans on bringing more LGBT+ characters into the MCU, specifically the T – the trans characters?”
Feige replied: “Yes. Absolutely. Yes. Very soon. In a movie we’re shooting right now.”
Related: ‘Thor’ director downplays prospect of same-sex Captain Marvel/Valkyrie romance
Feige appeared at NYFA on October 23, 2019. However, video of the conversation only went online on Saturday (Dec. 28), and his comments have only since gained traction in the media, with some outlets mistakingly stating he appeared there last weekend.
You can see the exchange at the 23.15 mark below.
Marvel has several projects on the go, so it’s uncertain which movie Feige might have been referring to.
Black Widow completed filming in October and is due in theaters in May. Also being filmed are The Eternals (due out in November) and Shang-Chi (due February 2021), which will feature Marvel’s first Asian-American superhero.
Shooting has not yet commenced on Black Panther 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy 3.
Earlier last year, Feige confirmed that The Eternals would have Marvel’s first gay character. Talking of the character’s sexuality at the D23 Expo, he revealed, “He’s married. He’s got a family. And that is just part of who he is.” He did not reveal the name of the character.
Related: ‘The Eternals’ trailer shows Marvel’s first gay superhero…and it’s not who we thought
It’s also known that the next Thor movie will feature an openly LGBTQ character: Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie. Although the character appeared in Thor 3, her sexuality was not mentioned. However, Thompson told fans at San Diego Comic-Con last summer the next movie will show her “looking for her queen.”
Thor: Love and Thunder will commence filming next March, with a 2021 release date.
Last July, GeeksWorldwide said it hard heard from industry sources that Marvel was seeking a trans woman actress for a role in a forthcoming movie, but there was no official confirmation of the rumor by anyone at Marvel.
Other well-known franchises in the Marvel Universe include Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man and Avengers.
Avengers: End Game did include a gay character, but it was a cameo role by the movie’s co-director, Joe Russo, who played an unnamed man attending a support group in a brief scene.
Sister Bertha Bedderthanyu
As to be expected it will be Marvel to the rescue. I think it safe to say that after the disastrous Justice League movie The Flash starring Ezra Miller is not going to make it to the big screen nor will Cyborg (its just TOO hard to believe he wasn’t dl).
Brian
Is it even possible to introduce a trans character into a Marvel movie without it seeming like either tokenism or an ABC afterschool special?
djmcgamester
I tend to think the same way. Too often this sort of thing has a story built around the character being trans/gay/bi. Those are too preachy. Write a good story. Slot in a trans person. That will go over much better.
Cam
I’ll believe it when I see it. Tessa Thompson saying “I’ll be looking for my queen” exposes their tactic quite well. In other words, they will MENTION that she is looking for a girlfriend, but it won’t actually be shown, not like Thor and Jane, or Spiderman and MJ, etc…. And if there is a gay male character, they will have him end up with a woman and call him “pan”, and they will weasel out of any trans representation by having the character be a man in a woman’s body and THATs why they’re into women, or some other cop out.
Just a guess.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Transformer??