Disney, Marvel, Angelina Jolie and Gay Superheroes

Angelina Jolie could be our next Marvel heroine and I’m quaking in my boots at the thought.

Photo Credit: Bounding Into Comics

Disney’s affair with Angelina Jolie seems to be going strong since her role in Maleficent (2014) that gained Disney a humble $758 million USD across box offices worldwide. It’s no surprise that her killer cheekbones and box office appeal would have caught the attention of Disney’s subsidiary, Marvel Studios.

There’s a lot you can say about the Marvel-Disney duo, but their expert casting of the public’s favourite actors and actresses ensure their walk to the bank is quick and easy.

The upcoming Marvel film is based on Jack Kirby’s classic 1976 comic miniseries, The Eternals, which is centred around a hidden race living on earth that began to populate the planet five million years ago. Conceived by the Celestials, the Eternals make up one of the two genetically modified human races that were subjected to experiments at the hands of the Celestials. The Eternals were basically designed to be agents of good in the world, fighting against their nemesis race, the Deviants.

It seems Jolie’s consideration of the role has already sparked some buzz but that’s to be expected seeing as she is the world’s favourite sexy bombshell with a heart of gold and a flair for humanitarian and activist work. Not to mention she’s also a producer and director… oh and do you guys remember that time she opened up a literal primary school for girls in Tangi along with about a dozen clinics, centres and foundations for immigrants in different regions? You’ll have to excuse the rambling, but this woman has done so much work for the world that I’m fairly certain her resume is AT LEAST 16 pages long.

Photo Credit: Giphy

Jolie’s possible position in the film is not the only thing that fans have paid attention to as The Eternals is set to increase encouragement for more female leads in Marvel films and the wider film industry. We all sat in admiration as we saw Brie Larson kick ass in Captain Marvel (2019). Larson along with Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o and Gwyneth Paltrow are a few of the names in the Marvel sister-gang that Jolie will be joining if she agrees to be a part of The Eternals.

The Eternals is rumoured to make history in more than one way, with Marvel’s production chief, Victoria Alonso, choosing not to confirm but to strongly allude to the desire and search for a first-ever gay lead for the film.

“Our entire success is based on people that are incredibly different. Our audience is global, is diverse, is inclusive…We are going to cast the best ‘Eternals’ cast that we can and when we’re ready to announce it we promise you we will,” Alonso told Variety.

The subject of LGBTQI+ representation within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is not a new one, with many fans voicing the need for more inclusivity in casting and character choice.

Hell, I’m up there with the fans. The MCU would, and IS, thriving with more inclusive films. The last Marvel film that showed an openly queer character was Deadpool 2 when they gave us Negasonic Teenage Warhead, who also happened to be played by an openly queer actress.

(Psssttttt…Angelina Jolie has been open about her queerness too so she’s a great addition to Marvel Studios).

While we sit in jittery anticipation for casting confirmation, Angelina Jolie can be seen working on an upcoming animation-turned-live action film, The One and Only Ivan and another fantasy drama film Come Away which is a prequel to Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland.

Let us know in the comments down below if you’d love to see Angelina Jolie in a Marvel film too!