Avengers: Endgamesaw Joe Russo play the first openly gay character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was a small part, but Russo says Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige will have an announcement “pretty soon” about another gay character being inrtiduced into the MCU. Marvel Studios has been criticized a number of times over the past eleven years for a lack of diversity, which they have been going out of their way to fix over the past few years. Last year’sBlack Pantherfeatures their first person of color-led movie and this year marks the first time a woman has led withCaptain Marvel.
When asked about theMCU’s futureand about his cameo inAvengers: Endgame, Joe Russo chose his words carefully. For one, he and his brother Anthony are finished with Marvel Studios for the time being. Secondly, the MCU has been teasing the first openly gay superhero for quite some time now, but it has not been confirmed. Russo had this to say about the matter.
“There is agay charactercoming up in one of their films… I think Kevin (Feige) will make that announcement, I’m sure, pretty soon.”
Marvel Studios producer Victoria Alonsorecently said, “the world is ready” for an openly-gay MCU superhero and many have taken that to meanThe Eternalswill be the project to pull it off. It has been heavily rumored for quite some time now and fans are ready for it to happen, it’s just a matter of it actually happening. As for the character it could be in the upcoming movie, many believe it will be Hercules, though that obviously has not been confirmed at this time.
As for when “pretty soon” will be for the announcement, this summer’sSan Diego Comic-Conis a safe bet. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is expected to announce the projects to be included in the MCU’s mysterious Phase 4, which could be whenThe Eternalsis officially revealed, along with its cast.Spider-Man: Far From Homeopens in early July and will close out the MCU’s Phase 3 after the events ofAvengers: Endgame. There’s going to be plenty of room for new characters and new stories, bringing out more representation at the same time.
Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie was revealed to be bi-sexual after the release ofRagnarok, but not included in the movie. There is the possibility of her story being told further now that we finally know she’s officially alive and well in the MCU. There has been talk of aThor 4, but it has not been announced, so we’ll have to look towardThe Eternalsand possibly even theBlack Widowstandalone movie, which is set to go into production very soon. We’ll just have to wait until this summer to see what Kevin Feige has to say. You can check out the interview with the Russo Brothers below, thanks to the Sirius XM YouTube channel.
