Marvel’s “The Eternals” will show the studio’s first out gay couple & same-sex kiss

Haaz Sleiman and Brian Tyree Henry
Photo: icmags/Gage Skidmore – CC-by-2.0/3.0)

In Marvel Studios’ upcoming film, The Eternals, gay actor Haaz Sleiman will play the husband of Phastos, the first gay superhero ever to appear in a Marvel Studio film. Sleiman says the couple will kiss — another Marvel Studio first. The film, which will hit theatres on November 6, 2020, may be the first of several queer superheroic moments to appear in Marvel’s upcoming films.

Phastos — an ambivalent and immortal being who can fly, shoot energy beams, and invent technologically complex weapons — will be played by Brian Tyree Henry, a not-out actor known for his roles in Atlanta and If Beale Street Could Talk. Henry’s casting has led some to wonder whether he’ll come out soon since Marvel Studios originally sought an out actor to play Phastos.

Related: New Marvel game lets you play as gay superheroes

Regardless, Sleiman called Henry “a tremendous actor” who conveys a child-like innocence in his role as Phastos. “I think it’s important,” Sleiman said, “for the world to be reminded that we in the queer community were all children at one point…. We’re always depicted as sexual or rebellious. We forget to connect on that human part.”

Sleiman called the kiss between Phastos and his husband “a beautiful, very moving kiss,” adding, “Everyone cried on set. For me, it’s very important to show how loving and beautiful a queer family can be.”

Their kiss may be the first of several queer on-screen representations Marvel fans can expect in the near future….

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