Kevin Feige Says More LGBTQ Characters Are Coming To The MCU
There's been a lot of discussions in recent years regarding the representation of the LGBTQ community in the entertainment industry. Now it seems Marvel Studios plans on including more LGBTQ characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
During a recent interview with The Playlist, Kevin Feige was asked if there are any LGBTQ characters are in the works, and he came back with an answer... "Yes."
Feige was pressed a little further for some information and was asked if the character are new ones or old one and Feige replied, "Both. Both ones you’ve seen and ones you haven’t seen."
So you can expect to see new and old LGBTQ characters. One of the old characters is most likely referring to Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie because the character is bi-sexual, but her sexual orientation wasn't addressed in the film. A lot of LGBTQ supports feel that is a disservice.
When talking about Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok with Rolling Stone, Taika Waititi explained there was a brief scene that was deleted would have shown a woman exiting Valkyrie’s bedroom. The director explained that the scene was cut because it "distracted from the scene’s vital exposition." Waititi said he maintained the scene "as long as he could."
I guess, sometimes things just aren't pertinent to the story that the filmmakers are telling. There was also a scene cut from Black Panther that reportedly included a brief moment that would have hinted at a flirtation between Dora Milaje members Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Ayo (Florence Kasumba).
I know everyone has different opinions on the this, but in the end, if the movie that the story tells is awesome and is filled with great characters, fans should be happy. When previously addressing LGBTQ characters in the Marvel universe, Feige said:
"You know, we pull the characters from the comics, for the most part, and they’ve been forging new ground for decades in the comics. They’ve been very progressive in the comics. And even more recently in a very important and progressive way. And we keep track of all of those things and are inspired by all of those things, so I’d love it to find an organic, meaningful and natural way for that to happen at some point in the not so distant future."
It will be interesting to see what LGBTQ characters Marvel ends up introducing in the future. Are there any that you can think of that you'd like to see on the big screen?