One year after Marvel Studios introduced trans actors in “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” the film and television studio’s president said a trans character will be featured in a forthcoming film.
“Very Soon,” Kevin Feige said, according to NBC, in response to a question at the New York Film Academy on December 28 about whether Marvel Cinematic Universe is planning to bring any trans characters to upcoming films. “Yes, absolutely. Yes. In a movie we’re shooting right now.”
It would mark Marvel’s first trans character on the big screen since out trans actors Zach Barack and Tyler Luke Cunningham were cast in the “Spider-Man” film, though they did not play lead roles. It is unclear what film Feige was referring to or what the nature of the role would be.
Geeks WorldWide reported in July that Marvel was casting for a role of a trans woman in her 20s to 30s. That website suspected that Marvel could be casting the actress in “Thor: Love and Thunder” because that story features Sera, Marvel comics’ only trans woman. That film is slated to be released in 2021.
If Marvel did indeed find a trans woman to play that role, it would prove to be a victory for trans representation at a time when, according to GLAAD, 18 percent of trans characters on TV shows are portrayed by cisgender actors.
The latest news comes just months after Feige confirmed in an interview with “Good Morning America” that “The Eternals” — set to be released in November of this year — would have a gay character.
“He’s married, he’s got a family, and that is just part of who he is,” Feige said.
Marvel is staying tight-lipped on any further details about that character.
Feige was also asked whether Marvel would continue expanding diversity after rolling out “Black Panther,” and he said he wanted to showcase heroes “that represent the world that goes to see our movies.”
“When you’re sitting at a table and everyone looks like you, you’re in trouble. You’re not going to get the best story out of it,” he said.
GLAAD’s annual report on LGBTQ representation in movies by major film studios last year revealed that LGBTQ characters made up 5.4 percent of those films in 2018. None of those films had any trans characters and there was a 15 percent decrease of LGBTQ people of color playing key roles in those films when compared to 2017. Of the 45 LGBTQ characters in films in 2018, most were seen for less than three minutes.
