It's taken 22 movies, but Avengers: Endgame has introduced the first openly gay character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Billed as the concluding chapter for the current Avengers franchise, Endgame features a brief cameo by one of the movie's directors, Joe Russo, playing a gay man.

The non-superhero character appears briefly in a support group of people mourning loved ones who were dusted by Thanos at the end of Avengers: Infinity War.



The character uses male pronouns to describe a date he recently went on during which both men got emotional about the loved ones they'd lost.

“Representation is really important,” Joe Russo told Deadline. “It was important to us as we did four of these films, we wanted a gay character somewhere in them."



"We felt it was important that one of us play him, to ensure the integrity and show it is so important to the filmmakers that one of us is representing that," he said.

