It hasn’t even hit the theaters yet, and Marvel’s latest installment in its cinematic universe is already being touted as the studio’s world-saving contribution to feminism. But the “big feminist movie” that star Brie Larson said she pressured the studio to create is already being eclipsed by an even more important Marvel film based on a script that hasn’t been written yet about a character who, Esquire reminds us, “doesn’t exist (yet).”
In a piece based on an online “rumor,” Esquire tells us about Marvel’s newest (hypothetical) film that will certainly generate far more buzz than “Captain Marvel,” if/when it is ever made.
In a piece titled “Why the Internet is Buzzing About a Gay Marvel Character That Doesn’t Exist (Yet),” Esquire reported Tuesday, as the early reviews of feminist “Captain Marvel” were streaming, in that “an online rumor suggests that Marvel is on the hunt for its first gay superhero for The Eternals.”
Oh, Internet. You’ve done it again. Over the past few days, Marvel fans have been buzzing about the prospect of a gay character to be introduced in the upcoming film, The Eternals. The casting would be the first time a gay superhero would appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The continued push for diversity makes sense after the studio’s success with Black Panther and the excitement around the upcoming Captain Marvel, but there’s only one problem—there’s no actual confirmation of the casting news.
Esquire tells us the rumor got started on a blog called The Hashtag Show, which claims Marvel is looking to cast an “an actor, 30-49, who ‘physically looks like a superhero’ for one of the film’s leads.” “The casting news is paired with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige’s positive sentiments about LGBT-inclusion during last year’s publicity tour for Ant Man and the Wasp,” notes Esquire, a reference to Feige reassuring LGBT fans that a gay superhero was indeed “in the works,” as The Daily Wire reported in June.
“A number of LGBT-centric publications have picked up the news, but don’t get too excited until an actual gay character has been announced by the comic giant itself,” Esquire cautions its readers.
Meanwhile, “Captain Marvel” hits theaters Friday, and the film is already being given special treatment by feminists, who are demanding that male reviewers “sit this one out” and let women review the film. That’s led some male would-be viewers to ask if they should just go ahead and stay home this weekend so women can enjoy the film without a bunch of guys messing up the whole experience.
The politically charged nature of the hype over “Captain Marvel” really got started in February when star Brie Larson declared that she took steps to make sure the press junket wasn’t “overwhelmingly white male” and revealed that she sat down with Marvel about making the film a “big feminist movie.” Those comments stirred up a strong enough backlash online that review site Rotten Tomatoes felt compelled to disable its prerelease comments function and dump its “want to see” score (which had dropped to 27% for the film:
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