Marvel Studios' latest blockbuster title Eternals is
finally in theaters, and besides starring an A-list cast that includes the likes of bi icon Angelina Jolie and fellow screen legend Salma Hayek, it's notable for
single-handedly bringing all sorts of on-screen representation of marginalized
identities to a mainstream superhero flick! Eternals features
so many amazing, badass women of all ages, a deaf hero, plenty of people of
color, and (to our absolute delight) the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first gay hero Phastos (played
by Atlanta alum Brian Tyree Henry) alongside his loving family!
Out got the chance to speak with Nomadland's
Chloé Zhao, the Oscar-winning co-writer and director of Eternals,
about bringing a major gay character to the MCU, if she felt any kind of
pressure while bringing the film to life, embracing sexuality in a superhero
movie, and so much more!
"We wanted the film, especially [in] a story about people that
[have] been with us since the beginning of human civilization, we wanted to
make sure it represents the reality of the world we live in," Zhao
told Out about bringing queer hero Phastos, and his husband
and son, to life in Eternals. "It feels like the most natural
thing to have this family in the film. If you think about it, Phastos' family
is really one of the very few moments of human interactions we have. And it's
this family that brought faith back to someone who has lost faith in humanity
as a whole, right? Because [of] all the terrible things we've done, it takes
him to forget about looking at humanity as a whole, but looking at one man and
one child and the love they have for each other to regain the faith. And for
us, for the audiences to feel that, is the most important thing."
And a gay hero isn't the only historic first Eternals has
up its sleeve. The film is notably more intimate, romantic, and embraces its
characters' love lives and sexualities a lot more than any other MCU film of
the past — and that even included a love scene between two of the film's main
characters Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Ikaris (Richard Madden).
"To show them loving each other, not just emotionally,
intellectually, but also physically, is very important," Zhao said
about Eternals celebrating sexuality. "Sometimes I think
to show sexuality in a positive, compassionate, gentle, and loving way is a
really good thing. This isn't something we should be ashamed of, or we should
hide. So it was great to be able to play it."
Eternals is now playing
in theaters.
SOURCE: OUT DOT COM
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