Marvel’s The Eternals Confirmed to Have LGBTQ Character

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirms Eternals will feature a character who is LGBTQ, following the acknowledgement of Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) as another LGBTQ hero in Thor: Love and Thunder.

“It will be the case not just with her, but with other characters in some of the movies we’ve talked about today,” Feige told Collider following Marvel Studios’ Phase 4 unveiling at San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H Saturday.

Asked specifically if an LGBTQ character exists in Eternals, Feige answered, “Yes.” Asked again if there’s “definitely” a character who identifies as LGBTQ, Feige again confirmed there will be.

Eternals will also feature the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first deaf superhero, Makkari, portrayed by The Walking Dead star Lauren Ridloff, who is deaf.

Marvel Studios EVP of Production Victoria Alonso said in a June Q&A on Reddit the Disney-owned studio is “actively working on making our universe as diverse and inclusive as we can.” The studio previously hit big with a pair of billion-plus grossers: Black Panther, its first film featuring a black lead and a predominantly black cast, and again with Captain Marvel, its first solo female-led film.

“You don’t get to have this kind of success if the entire world doesn’t see your product. So we are determined to have everyone of those people represented in our films, in some way, at some point in time,” Alonso previously told the BBC.

“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.”

Also announced for Phase 4 is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, starring Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu as Marvel Studios’ first Asian male lead.

The Chloé Zhao-directed Eternals stars Richard Madden (Ikaris), Kumail Nanjiani (Kingo), Lauren Ridloff (Makkari), Brian Tyree Henry (Phastos), Salma Hayek (Ajak), Lia McHugh (Sprite), Don Lee (Gilgamesh) and Angelina Jolie (Thena) and is dated November 6, 2020.