Tom Holland Open to Gay ‘Spider-Man,’ Agrees MCU Needs More Than Just ‘Straight White Guys’
Zack Sharf
Will Peter Parker come out as gay in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Probably not, considering his blossoming relationship with MJ (Zendaya), but it’s an idea actor Tom Holland would whole-heartedly embrace. In a new interview with The Sunday Times, Holland said he’d be open to his Marvel superhero coming out as gay and agreed with the overwhelming sentiment that the Marvel Cinematic Universe needs to start getting more inclusive on the LGBTQ front as soon as possible.
“Yeah, of course,” Holland answered when asked if he’d be okay with Spider-Man/Peter Parker being gay. “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.”
Holland added, “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.”
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has already gone on record saying the next phase of Marvel films will include the MCU’s first openly gay character. “We haven’t been shy about saying that that’s coming and that there’s much more prominent LGBT heroes in the future,” the executive told i09 last month. “[It’s] coming soon.”
The MCU got a bit of blowback earlier this year over the release of “Avengers: Endgame,” which included a rather inconsequential moment featuring an openly gay character. The person was played by co-director Joe Russo, who gave an interview with Deadline before the film’s release to explain why it was so important for the film to include this brief LGBTQ moment. Russo’s interview led many to question whether or not Marvel was pandering or actually genuine.
“That was never meant to be our first focused character,” Feige said about the backlash. “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.”
One persistent rumor posits that the first openly gay star character in the MCU will be introduced in “The Eternals,” the upcoming tentpole from filmmaker Chloe Zhao set to star Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, and Kumail Nanjiani.
“Spider-Man: Far From Home” is in theaters today.
