Game of Thrones star Kit Harington: Why are there no gay Marvel superheroes?
TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 10: Kit Harington attends the “The Death And Life Of John F. Donovan” premiere during 2018 Toronto International Film Festival at Winter Garden Theatre on September 10, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington has criticised Marvel for not representing gay people.
In an interview with Variety, the actor, who plays Jon Snow in the HBO series, said there was a lack of queer actors in Marvel films.
“There’s a big problem with masculinity and homosexuality that they can’t somehow go hand in hand,” he said.
Harington at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2018. (Michael Loccisano/Getty)
“That we can’t have someone in a Marvel movie who’s gay in real life and plays some superhero. I mean, when is that going to happen?”
Harington was interviewed to promote his upcoming film The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, alongside his co-stars Thandie Newton and Emily Hampshire, and director Xavier Dolan.
Newton highlighted how a few sports players have now come out as gay, saying: ““It is changing, but we have to get behind those changes and keep pushing it.”
As well not casting openly gay actors, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has also come under fire for not starring any explicitly LGBT+ characters.
However, in June, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige responded to a question about whether an LGBT+ superhero was “in the works,” simply replying: “Yes.”
And, In August, Stephen Broussard, a producer on Ant-Man and the Wasp, who has worked on MCU films since 2011, addressed the “frustration” over the lack of LGBT+ representation in Marvel movies.
“I know it can be frustrating if you’re part of a group that wants to see more representation and the answer is always ‘stay tuned’—I can imagine that that’s frustrating—but that is happening behind the scenes, you’re going to be seeing that more and more,” he said.
Last year, it was revealed that Thor: Ragnarok‘s Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thomspon, is bisexueal, but that a scene revealing her sexuality was cut from the film.
In September, Harington’s Game of Thrones co-star Iwan Rheon condemned his hometown ofCarmarthen’s local council for refusing to fly the rainbow flag to mark LGBT+ events.
Watch the Variety interview below
