Marvel’s Eternals director hopes gay characters won’t be censored overseas
Eternals will feature the MCU's first out gay superhero and LGBTQ family.
Words: Alastair James; pictures: wiki/Disney
The director of Marvel’s next big blockbuster Eternals says she hopes the film’s gay characters will not be censored in overseas countries.
Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao (for Nomadland) has said there is a big desire among top executives at Marvel to not cut the film at all to get it to screen in territories that have censored other movies in the past.
However, nothing appears set in stone, and given Eternals was already given an 18+ rating in Russia in September, it doesn’t seem beyond the realm of possibility that other regions will stick the movie with either a similar rating or censor it altogether.
“Fingers crossed”
In an interview with Indiewire ahead of the film’s release, Zhao said: “I don’t know all the details but I do believe discussions were had and there’s a big desire from Marvel and myself — we talked about this — to not change the cut of the movie. Fingers crossed.”
She also explains that the character of Phastos – Marvel’s first openly gay superhero, who will be played by Atlanta‘s Brian Tyree Henry – was written as a gay character before she signed on to direct the epic blockbuster.
Giving more insight into the character, who can supposedly create anything he wants, Zhao says Phastos is someone who “only sees humanity as a whole and believes that technology’s going to solve the problem.
“Obviously, he lost faith in us for some very tough things that we’ve done. And then he had to stop looking at us as a whole and look at one person he falls in love with, and one child, to regain the face of humanity,” she continues.
As well as Phastos’s groundbreaking role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he will be joined on screen by a male partner and child. Haaz Steiman, who will play Phastos’ partner, has said previously that he was “grateful” to get the chance to “humanize the hell” out of an LGBTQ family.
Eternals is also due to feature the MCU’s first sex scene, according to reports.
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