Tom Holland, who plays Peter Parker in Marvel’s latest superhero movie, Spider-Man: Far from Home, says it is time for a “gay Spider-Man” and said the Marvel universe needs more racially diverse characters besides “straight white guys.”
The British-born actor unveiled his hopes for a gayer Marvel universe in an interview with the Sunday Times, explaining that he would be open to a gay Spider-Man or at least more gay characters.
“Yeah, of course,” Holland said when asked if he would mind playing a gay Spider-Man/Peter Parker.
But Holland added that plans are underway to begin adding LGBTQ characters into future Marvel superhero films. “I can’t talk about the future of the character because honestly I don’t know and it’s out of my hands. But I do know a lot about the future of Marvel, and they are going to be representing lots of different people in the next few years.”
“The world isn’t as simple as a straight white guy. It doesn’t end there, and these films need to represent more than one type of person,” Holland insisted.
The news may not surprise Marvel fans. Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige already said that there will be new LGBTQ characters in the near future.
“We haven’t been shy about saying that that’s coming and that there’s much more prominent LGBTQ heroes in the future,” Feige said last month. “[It’s] coming soon.”
The questions arose after Avengers: End Game featured a gay character in a very small role. Some LGBTQ fans complained that the character was not nearly enough homage to the gay agenda.
“That was never meant to be our first focused character,” Feige said about those upset over the Endgame character. “That was just meant to be a matter of fact and a matter of life and a matter of truth. … It was never meant to be looked at as our first hero. I guess it’s the first reference, so it does, of course, get a lot of attention.”
Spider-Man: Far From Home featured the studio’s first openly acknowledged transgender actor.
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