Here's What Tom Holland Thinks About the Possibility of a Gay Spider-Man
The recent premiere of Marvel's Spider-Man: Far From Home signalled the end of the current phase of the MCU and a decade's worth of storytelling which, while critically and commercially lauded, were very straight, white and male. With fans now looking ahead to the more diverse future of the comic book universe, the MCU's best, softest boy, Tom Holland, is weighing in.
Speaking to The Times ahead of the film's release, the Spidey star spoke about the possibility of Peter Parker (or some other version of Spider-Man) coming out as gay in future films, and said he would "of course" be fine with such a development.
"I can’t talk about the future of the character because honestly I don’t know and it’s out of my hands," he said. "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."
He was referring, of course, to the news that Marvel is actively seeking an openly gay actor to play the lead in the upcoming The Eternals, which promises to be a more diverse, Avengers-style lynchpin of Marvel's Phase Four. The box office successes of Black Panther and Captain Marvel were definitive proof that there is an audience out there hungry for stories anchored by characters they can identify with - a financial incentive which will also fortunately serve to enrich the storytelling of the MCU as it moves forward.
Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, has promised that more diversity is "coming soon," telling i09 back in June: "We haven’t been shy about saying that that’s coming and that there’s much more prominent LGBT heroes in the future."
"The world isn’t as simple as a straight white guy," said Holland. "It doesn’t end there, and these films need to represent more than one type of person."
('You Might Also Like',)
