At least two LGBTQ Marvel movie characters are in the works, according to Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige.
At a press junket for “Ant-Man and The Wasp” Sunday, Feige was asked by The Playlist if an LGBTQ hero or heroine would be represented in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie or if that was even in the works. Feige responded simply, “Yes.”
When pressed further if the character was one we have or haven’t seen yet, Feige answered, “Both ones you’ve seen and ones you haven’t seen.”
The character we haven’t seen can be anyone’s guess, but the one we’ve already met is most likely Tess Thompson’s Valkyrie from “Thor: Ragnarok.” Actress Tessa Thompson, who plays Thor’s enchanted-sword-carrying one-time love interest in the film, revealed on Twitter that her character is bisexual.
“She’s bi. And yes, she cares very little about what men think of her. What a joy to play!” Thompson tweeted after a fan complained that early images of the character make her look like a “typical sexless marvel tomboy.”
In a later tweet, Thompson wrote, “YES! Val is Bi in the comics & I was faithful to that in her depiction. But her sexuality isn’t explicitly addressed in Thor: Ragnarok.”
YES! Val is Bi in the comics & I was faithful to that in her depiction. But her sexuality isn’t explicitly addressed in Thor: Ragnarok. https://t.co/hmb5lYN5to
— Tessa Thompson (@TessaThompson_x) October 23, 2017
A scene from “Ragnarok” of a woman walking out of Valkyrie’s bedroom that seemingly confirms her sexuality was left on the cutting room floor.
If Valkyrie bisexuality emerges in future installments, she wouldn’t be the first openly LGBTQ hero in the MCU. On ABC’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” the Inhuman Joey Gutierrez played by Juan Pablo Raba is openly gay.
“Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn has previously said that there may be gay characters in the Marvel universe; maybe we just haven’t seen them yet.
“Somebody asked me, ‘Will there be any gay characters in Marvel movies?’ And, you know, what I meant is there’s a lot of characters in the MCU and very few of them have we delved into what their sexuality is, whether it’s gay or straight or bisexual,” Gunn said. “We don’t really know, so I imagine there are probably, you know, gay characters in the Marvel universe and we just don’t know who they are yet.”