“It’s so charming and so fun to see the actor’s themselves get excited about the potential mashup.”
Back in April, Marvel’s first female-led solo adventure, Captain Marvel, was released to universal acclaim and massive box office success, grossing over 1.1 billion worldwide – meaning it’s the first film headed by a woman to hit the billion-dollar mark.
One aspect of the film that garnered significant attention from fans was the title character’s (Brie Larson) relationship with her best friend Marie Lambeau (Lashana Lynch). In the film, Captain Marvel aka Carol Danvers, discovers how she became one of the galaxy’s mightiest heroes after Earth is caught in the centre of an intergalactic conflict between two opposing alien races.
During her mission to find out more about her past, she comes across fellow Air Force pilot, Marie, her oldest friend who presumed Carol had died in a crash six-years prior. Marie is a single mother, and we discover that Carol helped raise her daughter. Fans were quick to notice queer undertones between them.
Shortly after the film’s release, fans uploaded romantic fan art of Carol alongside another Marvel character, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), who first appeared in Thor: Ragnarok. She later made her comeback this year in Avengers: Endgame, but didn’t share any one-on-one scenes with Brie Larson’s character.
Larson even tweeted a fan sketch alongside the caption, “We cute” to which Thompson responded: “WHAT. We so cute.” Thompson later said: ” I just love the idea of more women Marvel characters getting to intersect. I just think it’s so cool and it’s time and why not? There’re so many compelling female characters inside of the MCU.”
Ever since, fans have championed for them to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first same-sex couple. Although Captain Marvel’s directors claimed last week that there was “no room” for a romance, let alone a lesbian romance, it seems like the team have taken notice of fan demand.
Speaking to ComicBook.com, Mary Livanos – the film’s producer – said: “And then, of course, there’s the Brie Tessa Thompson love going on online which is fun to see. It’s so charming and so fun to see the actor’s themselves get excited about the potential mashup so that as a creative makes you start thinking.”
It’s not official confirmation that the two will get it on by any means, but it’s nice to know that the team at Marvel are starting to take notice at our need for more diverse representation. And seeing as how both characters are based in the cosmos, it’s quite likely that we’ll see them interact once again.
Earlier this month, the studio’s executives confirmed that future Marvel films will start becoming more diverse. Speaking to Vulture, Victoria Alonso, the studio’s executive vice-president, said she hoped Marvel would set the standard with diversity.
“We’re just determined to have it be how we do it,” she said. “And if we do it, maybe somebody else will do it. I encourage every studio, every indie production company, every filmmaker out there to make an effort.”
And Sarah Halley Finn, the casting director for every Marvel film since Iron Man, said: “You’re gonna see even more new faces — and faces from all different background, all ages, all ethnicities, LGBTQ, people who are differently abled.
“It’s a priority to have authenticity, to increase representation, to give greater representation to actors who have not traditionally been represented in mainstream movies on the big screen.”
Last month, Larson said she wanted to see the movie studio “move faster” when it came to LGBTQ representation. And when asked about rumours of upcoming movie The Eternals having a gay character, studio president Kevin Feige said: “Well it’s accurate in that we’ve talked about [it for] a long time.
“You look at the success of Captain Marvel and Black Panther. We want the movies to reflect the audience and we want every member of our global audience to see themselves reflected on the screen.”
However, Marvel did start making steps earlier this year with Avengers: Endgame. In an early scene at a support group for people trying to move on from losing loved ones following Thanos’ snap in Infinity War, a man – played by co-director Joe Russo – talks about going on his first date since losing his male partner.
It’s a small moment, sure, but it’s a step in the right direction and gives fans hope that something more substantial is on its way.
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