Kevin Feige has addressed the controversy surrounding the small usage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first openly gay character in Avengers: Endgame.
The character in question appears during the post-snap era that’s shown near the beginning of the film. It’s set five years after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Steve Rogers is hosting a counseling session for those who lost their loved ones because of the snap. During this scene, the audience is introduced to a grieving husband (played by co-director Joe Russo) who talks about going on a date for the first time since losing his loving partner. This moment was definitely an emotional and enduring moment, but many have heavily criticized the insignificance of an LGBT character that’s only on screen for a few minutes.
Kevin Feige revealed in a recent interview with io9 that this scene was never supposed to be a big deal in the long run:
“That was never meant to be our first focused character. 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. It 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.”
In addition, Kevin Feige also reassured that we will be seeing numerous LGBT superheroes in the years to come:
“We haven’t been shy about saying that that’s coming and that there’s much more prominent LGBT heroes in the future.”
Here’s the official synopsis for Avengers: Endgame:
The grave course of events set in motion by Thanos that wiped out half the universe and fractured the Avengers ranks compels the remaining Avengers to take one final stand in Marvel Studios’ grand conclusion to twenty-two films, “Avengers: Endgame.”
Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Josh Brolin.
Avengers: Endgame is now playing in theaters!
Source: io9
