The Marvel universe is preparing to introduce its very first transgender character.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said as much during a recent Q&A at the New York Film Academy, BBC News reports. When asked if LGBTQ characters would be featured in the studio's upcoming films, and specifically transgender characters, Feige responded, "Yes, absolutely yes. And very soon, in a movie that we're shooting right now."
Feige didn't provide further details, but upcoming movies on Marvel's slate include The Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: Love and Thunder. Marvel recently featured its first openly gay character in Avengers: Endgame, a member of Captain America's support group played by Joe Russo.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
But Feige has previously confirmed that there will be more LGBTQ representation in Marvel's upcoming movies, including with Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie in the next Thor sequel as well as in The Eternals, the latter of which Feige says will introduce a gay character.
"He's married, he's got a family, and that is just part of who he is," Feige said of the character.
A previous report from Geeks WorldWide suggested Marvel was casting a transgender character for one of its upcoming films.
Marvel's slate of movies for its fourth phase will feature plenty of firsts for the studio, with Shang-Chi being Marvel's first movie centered around an Asian lead, The Eternals introducing Marvel's first deaf superhero, and Thor: Love and Thunder featuring Jane Foster as a female Thor. Feige also noted at the recent Q&A that there will be more female directors behind the camera in Marvel's next phase, including with its two 2020 films, Black Widow and The Eternals.
"It makes for better stories," Feige said. "I say when you're sitting at a table, and if everybody looks like you, you're in trouble. You're not going to get the best story out of that."
Update: Variety and Entertainment Weekly are now reporting that Feige did not mean to suggest that a transgender character is coming to the Marvel universe "very soon" and that he was responding to the first part of the question about LGBTQ characters.
