In case you missed the news, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed that they will be bringing in more LGBTQ+ characters to upcoming films. Although there have been reports that Marvel will introduce its first transgender superhero soon—probably in “Thor: Love and Thunder” in 2021, a source clarified to Variety that the trans character won’t be making an appearance in the foreseeable future. But the possibility is still there.
If Marvel finally pushes through with the plan of introducing a transgender character, here are some of our expectations:
Sera and Jessie Drake
These two transgender characters are the possible candidates for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sera is a wingless angel who came from an all-male group called the Anchorites and transitioned into a woman. Since she is a heavenly being, it’s possible that she’ll appear in “Thor: Love and Thunder.”
As for Jessie Drake, she’s a mutant from the X-Men universe. Since Disney already acquired Fox, many theorize that the X-Men will be part of Phase Four. But the problem here is that Drake’s first and last appearances in the comics were in 1994. It’s unlikely that Marvel Studios will bring her to the big screen. (Unless?)
Ample screen time
Marvel received flak last year when they proudly announced the “first openly gay moment” in “Avengers: Endgame” featuring director Joe Russo. The scene shows Russo’s character talking about his male partner disappearing due to Thanos’ snap. However, the scene was so brief and subtle that people could miss the fact that the character was gay.
Basically, Marvel allotted a small part of the movie and passed it off as their groundbreaking LGBTQ+ moment. It obviously wasn’t enough. If they’re really aiming for representation, the least they can do is give ample screen time and investment on the characters.
If Marvel does introduce a transgender character, they don’t necessarily have to explicitly say they transitioned nor do they have to experience trans-related problems to affirm their gender identity. (To loosely quote “Pose” star Indya Moore’s tweet, people shouldn’t assume a character is cisgender.)
Cast a transgender actor
Hollywood has a bad habit of casting cisgender actors to play trans roles. (e.g. Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club”) We now live in a progressive time where series like “Pose” and “Sense8” showed everyone that you can create something with a diverse cast. If Marvel wants to further diversify its films, they should start by casting LGBTQ+ actors.
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
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