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Marvel’s Eternals Gay Character, Couple and Kiss Confirmed

Just in time for Valentines!

the cast of the eternals and kevin feige at comic con

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney

We’ve known for a while that Marvel’s upcoming Eternals would feature the first gay superhero in a Marvel film, but reports and theories varied as to who it would be. Kevin Feige confirmed that the character would be gay and, according to comments at D23 by Feige, “He’s married, he’s got a family, and that’s just part of who he is.” Prior to this confirmation, the prevailing theory was that the queer superhero would be Richard Madden’s Ikaris.

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After those comments, trailer reports indicated that it wasn’t Ikaris, but rather Phastos, played by Atlanta‘s Bryan Tyree Henry. Today, the actor that plays his husband, Haaz Sleiman, confirmed that in an interview with New Now Next. Sleiman can currently be seen on Apple TV’s Little America.

“I just shot a Marvel film with the first openly gay superhero, The Eternals. I’m married to the gay superhero Phastos, played by Atlanta’s Brian Tyree Henry, and we represent a gay family and have a child,” Sleiman told New Now Next. Phastos is the weapon-smith of the Eternals—group of immortals created by another group of immortal, magical aliens, the Celestials.

Not only do we have a queer family in a Marvel film, we have an interracial queer family played by a black man and a Lebanese man, who is out and queer himself! And Sleiman also confirms they filmed a kiss.

“Oh, yeah, absolutely, and it’s a beautiful,” Sleiman explained when asked about the kiss. “Very moving kiss. Everyone cried on set. For me it’s very important to show how loving and beautiful a queer family can be. Brian Tyree Henry is such a tremendous actor and brought so much beauty into this part, and at one point I saw a child in his eyes, and I think it’s important for the world to be reminded that we in the queer community were all children at one point. We forget that because we’re always depicted as sexual or rebellious. We forget to connect on that human part.

Love this and along with this and the amazingly diverse cast (which included Bi-con Angelina Jolie) it makes us even more excited for Eternals.

(via New Now Next)

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Jessica Mason
Jessica Mason (she/her) is a writer based in Portland, Oregon with a focus on fandom, queer representation, and amazing women in film and television. She's a trained lawyer and opera singer as well as a mom and author.

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