Marvel’s Kevin Feige talks openly gay character in Eternals

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

As we move into the new era of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’ve been promised not only introductions to a whole new slew of characters and settings but also a greater representation of people from all walks of life. That includes featuring characters from the LGBTQ community, such as Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie from the THOR series, and more. Another inclusion is a currently unnamed character in next year’s ETERNALS, and now Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has opened up a bit more about who this character is.

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Feige originally spoke about having more LGTBQ characters in the MCU while at Comic-Con last month, and while talking Valkyrie he mentioned a gay character would also be in ETERNALS (via Collider). He didn’t say whom, but when talking to Good Morning America (via EW) at D23 he confirmed as much that it would be a male character while ever-so-briefly talking about the matter. 

"He’s married, he’s got a family, and that is just part of who he is," Feige said during the interview below. 

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The MCU is currently in its 11th year and its 23rd movie (SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME) is making its way out of theaters, but the inclusion of gay characters is something that's only been starting to become more commonplace within the last year. In April's AVENGERS: ENDGAME, co-director Joe Russo played a member of Steve Roger's (Chris Evans) support group who talked about a date he had with another man, making him the first openly gay character in the MCU (despite how minor of a role it was). When talking about Valkyrie at Comic-Con, Thompson said "As new king [of Asgard], she needs to find her queen. That will be the first order of business," (via THR).

We don't have that many details about ETERNALS as we're still over a year from release, but along with having an openly gay character, the movie will also have the first deaf superhero, played by Lauren Ridloff as Makkari. Alongside her will be an impressive ensemble cast, including Angelina Jolie as Thena, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Brian Tyree Henry as Phastos, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Don Lee as Gilgamesh, Barry Keoghan as Druig, Gemma Chan as Sersi, and Kit Harington as Dane Whitman.

ETERNALS is in theaters on November 6, 2020.