While taking interviews for Ant-Man & the Wasp, Kevin Feige has confirmed that there will be LGBTQ characters in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It seems that includes both new characters, and heroes we've already met.

Hollywood is currently coming under a lot of flak for their "gay erasure." The most recent culprit was Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, where a deleted scene would have revealed a secondary character was gay. Marvel is by no means innocent in this regard either; the studio deleted a scene from Thor: Ragnarok that would have confirmed Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie is bisexual.

Speaking to Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige during interviews for Ant-Man & the WaspThe Playlist took the opportunity to question him about whether or not we'd see future LGBTQ superheroes in the MCU. As they noted, although Ant-Man & the Wasp is based in San Francisco, there isn't a gay character to be found. Thankfully, Feige was confident in asserting that Marvel is about to become a lot more diverse. Here's how the conversation went:

When are we getting a Gay, Bi, LGBTQ, out character in the MCU?  Is it even in the works?

Kevin Feige: Yes.

The Playlist: That’s the answer?

Kevin Feige: Yeah, that’s the answer.

The Playlist: It’s not someone we’ve seen yet, I’m guessing?

Kevin Feige: Both.

The Playlist: Both?

Kevin Feige: Both ones you’ve seen and ones you haven’t seen.

The character we've already seen is probably Valkyrie. Although Valkyrie wasn't in Avengers: Infinity War, the Russos have confirmed that the character survived the film's cliffhanger ending. Thompson was seen on set during production of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4, so it seems safe to say she'll be appearing next year. It's possible Marvel will choose to actually give a subtle hint as to the character's sexuality this time round.

The more exciting implication of Feige's comment, though, is that Marvel Studios has a new LGBTQ character in the works. There actually aren't that many Marvel superheroes who are LGBTQ in the first place, and a number of the more prominent ones are members of the X-Men. Although Disney is awaiting regulatory approval for their bid to purchase the bulk of 21st Century Fox's film and TV empire, which would bring the X-Men into the MCU, Feige has insisted he isn't planning anything around that until the deal is finalized.

Black Panther's tremendous box office success has clearly persuaded Marvel Studios that the future of the MCU lies in diversity. Feige recently teased that Marvel is considering developing some of the more recent "Legacy Heroes," most notably Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel. That may mean heroes like America Chavez are soon to make their debut in the MCU. Meanwhile, another possibility is that Marvel is preparing the way for a Young Avengers movie. Emma Fuhrmann has joined the cast of Avengers 4 as an older Cassie Lang, a member of the Young Avengers in the comics. Two of her colleagues - Hulkling and Wiccan - are among Marvel's most prominent gay heroes.

We'll have to add this comment to the building intrigue about the post-Phase 3 MCU. Feige has confessed he's "cagey" about those plans, and will only really start revealing what films are in the works after next year's Avengers 4.

More: MCU Phase 4: Predicting Marvel's 2020, 2021, & 2022 Films

Source: The Playlist

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