On the eve of Marvel’s first solo female superhero film “Captain Marvel” hitting theaters, it would appear that the studio is looking ahead to much more diversity in its lineup. In an interview with Variety, executive Victoria Alonso hinted that the world is close to seeing its first openly gay Marvel Studios superhero.
“The world is ready, the world is ready,” Alonso said, when asked about the chances of seeing an openly gay superhero in the MCU.
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The reason the executive was questioned about the diversity is after rumors swirled that Marvel Studios is looking for an openly gay male actor to lead the cast of the upcoming “Eternals” film, directed by Chloé Zhao.
While she stopped short of confirming that bit of casting news, Alonso did hint that they are in the process of casting the film, with confirmation coming…well, when they’re ready. You know how Marvel Studios loves its secrets.
“We are going to cast the best ‘Eternals’ cast that we can and when we’re ready to announce it we promise you we will,” said Alonso.
Even though there were no casting bombshells in the interview, the executive reiterated the studio’s commitment to diversity moving forward.
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“Why wouldn’t we be? Why wouldn’t we be?” Alonso said. “I’m so passionate about this I’ve got to tell you. Our entire success is based on people that are incredibly different. Why wouldn’t we? Why would we only want to be recognized by only one type of person? Our audience is global, is diverse, is inclusive. If we don’t do it that way for them, we will fail. If we don’t put pedal to the metal on the diversity and the inclusivity, we will not have continued success. Our determination is to have that for all of the people out there watching our movies.”
As “Black Panther” has already proven, and as “Captain Marvel” is poised to show again, diverse casts can lead to massive box office totals. And we all know that Disney/Marvel Studios is pleased when those record-breaking numbers come in.
“Captain Marvel” hits theaters tomorrow. (Well, tonight if you want to go to the early screenings.)
