“There’s a big problem with masculinity and homosexuality that they can’t somehow go hand in hand.”
Game of Thrones star Kit Harington has criticised Marvel Studios for the lack of gay representation in their movies.
The British actor appeared at the Toronto Film Festival to promote his upcoming film The Death and Life of John F. Donovan (where plays a closeted actor), and spoke about inclusivity with Variety.
“There’s a big problem with masculinity and homosexuality that they can’t somehow go hand in hand,” he said. “That we can’t have someone in a Marvel movie who’s gay in real life and plays some superhero. I mean, when is that going to happen?”
Marvel has long faced criticism for the lack of minority representation in its movies, and while it made steps to introduce diversity with the critically-acclaimed Black Panther and upcoming Captain Marvel, LGBTQ characters remains non-existent.
Historically, big-budget superhero movies have chosen to tone down or completely erase queerness from their characters, likely because some of the world’s biggest entertainment markets (including China) don’t allow LGBTQ representation on screen.
Last year, Tessa Thompson revealed she filmed a scene for Thor: Ragnarok which confirmed her character Valkyrie’s bisexuality, but it was later cut. Similarly, a same-sex romance was removed from the final edit of Black Panther.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the studio keeps its promise to introduce LGBTQ representation to their movies.
Marvel’s comics, meanwhile, continue to provide plenty of LGBTQ representation. Back in 2012, Northstar entered into a same-sex marriage with his partner Kyle, and last year Iceman had his first gay kiss with a glorious full-page illustration.
In a recent issue of X-Men: Gold, Bobby Drake (Iceman) was seen discussing his hook-up with Simon Lasker (Pyro).