The franchise has faced backlash over its lack of LGBT representation (Picture: Marvel, Getty)

Marvel boss Kevin Feige has promised ‘much more prominent LGBT heroes’ in the MCU after the backlash over Joe Russo’s cameo as a gay man in Avengers: Endgame.

It’s about time, guys.

While fans were promised the MCU’s first openly gay character in the blockbuster, it all fell a bit flat when it turned out that, rather than a superhero, all the hype was about an unnamed character at a support group who briefly mentioned going on a date with a man.

You definitely could have blinked and missed it, and fans were quick to drag the directing duo for their attempt.




Speaking out on the cameo, Feige said: ‘That was just meant to be a matter of fact and a matter of life and a matter of truth. And I liked it that our hero, Steve Rogers, doesn’t blink an eye at that fact. It is just truth and is heartbreaking for his loss and for the life he’s trying to put back together.

‘[Joe Russo’s cameo] was never meant to be looked at as our first hero. I guess it’s the first reference so it does, of course, get a lot of attention.’

Co-director Joe Russo played a gay man in the blockbuster (Picture: Getty Images for CinemaCon)

However, he promised in the interview with io9: ‘We haven’t been shy about saying that that’s coming and that there’s much more prominent LGBT heroes in the future.’

With fans longing for an openly gay hero, the cast, execs and writers have also made it clear that the franchise needs to do more in terms of LGBT representation.

Back in April, Thor star Tessa Thompson revealed she plays her character Valkyerie as a bisexual woman, explaining: ‘In the canon, [Valkyrie] is bisexual. You see her with women and men, so that was my intention in playing her.

Tessa Thompson revealed she plays Valkyerie as a bisexual woman (Picture: Marvel Studios 2017)

The 35-year-old added to Variety: ‘Obviously, at the forefront of most of these stories is not typically their romantic life. They have big stakes, like saving the world, so that tends to sort of trump.’

Meanwhile, a gay Marvel exec, Victoria Alonso, has also spoken out about how the franchise needs to do better with its representation.

‘I think we haven’t represented the Latin community, in general. I think that’s something we have to do better. I’m Latin, I can tell you that I’m longing for that,’ she explained.

‘The gay community has not been represented whatsoever. I’m gay, so I can tell you that I would long for that.

‘Now, we only make two or three movies a year, so it’s difficult to have every single one — but it is definitely one of the things that we have in our minds all the time.’

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