‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Sequel Reportedly Casting a Gender Non-Conforming Character

It sounds like the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming could be bringing even more diversity to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

That Hashtag Show recently uncovered three casting descriptions for the film, which seem to hint at three new high school-age characters that will be joining the film. While it’s unclear exactly where these casting descriptions originated from, one calls for “an 18-22 year old of any ethnicity, to play a gender non-conforming student.”

For the uninitiated, gender non-conforming refers to someone who does not adhere to society’s rules about assigned gender, and who chooses to present themselves with any combination of masculine, feminine, or gender-free qualities. Being gender non-conforming does not have to do with the individual’s sexuality, but it does often fall under the LGBT+ community.

It’s unclear exactly what role this gender non-conforming character would have in Spider-Man: Homecoming 2, but it could mark a major turning point in terms of representation. Gender non-conforming characters have had next-to-no representation within mainstream media, with the most prominent recent example appearing on Roseanne. Putting a character who is canonically gender non-conforming within a Marvel movie could have a pretty positive impact, especially considering the box-office success of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Additional casting breakdowns call for an 18-26 year old actress “of any ethnicity, preferably a character actor or comedienne”, and an 18-25 year old actor who will play a “charming and insanely likable” high school senior named Jason. And while it’s unclear who exactly will be cast in these roles, it sounds like the film is continuing Homecoming’s pattern of diverse casting, as seen with Liz Allan (Laura Harrier) and Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori).

“The very first thing I made was a look book of what I wanted the world to look like and what the kids should look like and the high school should look like,” director Jon Watts said in an interview last year. “I lived in New York for thirteen years and it should look like a school in New York, it shouldn’t look like a school in the Midwest in the 50s.”

At the moment, it’s unknown exactly how the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming will end up coming together, much less the role these new characters will play in it. The film is expected to see Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) traveling around the world, and possibly running into new characters in the process.

“We start filming early July,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said earlier this year. “We film in London. We shot first film in Atlanta. And we shoot a lot of films in London but there’s another reason we’re shooting in London which is, yes, Spidey, of course, will spend some time in New York, but he’ll spend some time in other parts of the globe.”

What do you think about the latest casting calls for the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now. Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 will land into theaters on July 5, 2019.