Kevin Feige: We Want To Showcase LGBTQ Characters In The MCU
John F. Trent
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Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige reiterated what he has been saying for the past couple of years that Marvel Studios will showcase LGBTQ characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Most recently, Feige spoke with Rotten Tomatoes where he discussed the current state of Marvel’s Phase 4 which includes WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and Black Widow.
He told Rotten Tomatoes, “Representation is important across the board. And the comics has charted…charts the path in almost all ways for what we do in the MCU and in the comics there are many LGBTQ characters and we want to showcase that on the screen as well. We want to bring those characters to life on the screen.”
“We also, as Stan Lee used to say, Marvel represents the world outside your window. And outside of our window, there are all different types of people in all different types of places with all different types of preferences and we want that reflect in the MCU and in our fictional world as it is in our real world,” he continued.
Feige then stated, “So it is of utmost importance that when people go in and see one of our films or log on to Disney+ and watch one of our series that it represents the true world outside their window when it comes to the types of people portraying the heroes and the characters.”
(L-R): Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Sophia Di Martino in Marvel Studios’ LOKI, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
What is interesting about these recent comments from Feige is that it echoes Marvel Studios producer Victoria Alonso’s comments about how Marvel Studios follows the comics.
However, anyone who has watched a Marvel Studios film knows that the company hardly ever matches the comics and in fact takes great liberties with many of the characters.
Falcon/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in Marvel Studios’ THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Related: Kevin Feige Says Comic Book Popularity Not A Factor In Movie And TV Adaptations
In fact, just back in May, Feige seemed rather clear that Marvel Studios did not take cues from the comic books when it came to their stories and in fact did not look at the popularity of a character to determine whether or not they would adapt it to live action.
Referencing the early X-Men and Blade films, Feige told Men’s Health, “That sort of proved early on that it wasn’t about how famous the character was, but about how great their potential was for becoming a cool movie, or series of movie.”
(L-R): Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), Tommy (Jett Klyne), Vision (Paul Bettany), Billy (Julian Hilliard) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) in Marvel Studios’ WANDAVISION exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Another interesting factor about Feige’s comments is that he specifically corrected himself in that the comics chart the path for the MCU and its way forward.
And it does seem clear that the MCU is taking cues from the current crop of Marvel Comics writers as evident in Marvel Studios foray into television on Disney+. Like the comics before, they are abandoning the focus on storytelling and instead putting their emphasis on a political agenda and acting as propaganda.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 29: Producer, President of Marvel Studios and Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Kevin Feige attends the Black Widow World Premiere Fan Event at Dolby Theatre on June 29, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
Prolific Punisher writer Chuck Dixon even noted just how poor Marvel Comics has been the past couple of years.
He noted in a recent episode of Ask Chuck Dixon, “What’s out now, for the Big Two, is, for the most part, poorly crafted. There’s a few exceptions, but for the most part, it’s poorly crafted, poorly conceived, there’s an obvious political agenda to everything, and there’s no variety.”
And it’s not just comic book veterans like Chuck Dixon sounding the bell, even Marvel Studios’ own director James Gunn recently revealed his thoughts on recent superhero fare describing it as boring.
Related: The Suicide Squad Director James Gunn Describes Most Current Superhero Movies As “Boring”
Gunn recently stated, “They’re mostly boring to me right now! [Laughs] I loved them at the beginning and there are still people trying to do different things [with them], so it’s not a 100% rule, but a lot of them are boring.”
If Feige continues to follow the path Marvel Comics laid out, the shine of the MCU might quickly turn to rust.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 29: (L-R) Producer, President of Marvel Studios and Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Kevin Feige, EVP of Production at Marvel Studios Victoria Alonso, Co-Producer Brian Chapek, and Executive Producer Brad Winderbaum attend the Black Widow World Premiere Fan Event at Dolby Theatre on June 29, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
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