Recently, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige made headlines because he seemed to imply that the superhero universe was about to introduce its first transgender superhero in the upcoming film “Eternals.” Well, apparently that isn’t entirely what the Marvel boss meant when he said: “very soon.”
According to Variety, sources close to Marvel Studios confirmed that Feige, in fact, wasn’t talking about a trans character when he made his comments to the audience at the New York Film Academy. Instead, he was responding to the first part of the question, which asked about more LGBTQ+ representation.
READ MORE: Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige Says A Trans Hero Is Coming To The MCU “Very Soon”
In that case, it’s expected that “Eternals” will be the film that introduces the first openly gay superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with many predicting that it could be Richard Madden’s Ikaris character. However, confirmation of that has yet to come, though we’ll likely learn about it sooner than later considering the film is coming in November.
So, yes, the world got excited by what seemed to be confirmation of a major step for trans inclusivity in superhero films. However, on that front, it appears that fans will be waiting a bit longer for that to happen. Though, with the excitement that permeated fandom over the last couple of days since that quote made the rounds, you have to assume that Marvel Studios will respond with a true introduction of a trans character sooner rather than later. But with films and TV projects planned out into 2022 and beyond, it could be a number of years before that happens.
That being said, “Eternals” is coming (directed by the amazing Chloe Zhao) and with the cast that includes Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh, Don Lee, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, and Kit Harington, we couldn’t be more excited to see what Marvel has in store.
“Eternals” arrives in theaters on November 5.