X-Men writer says X2: X-Men United was gay for an important reason
The X-Men X2 writer has confirmed the movie shone a light on LGBTQ issues. (20th Century Studios/FilmFlex)
An X-Men writer has confirmed that X2: X-Men United was intended to be gay for an important reason.
X-Men has long been praised for its representation of the queer experience and battle for acceptance, while the recent X-Men ‘97 series confirms which characters are queer in the series, and the comics.
Alan Cumming, who portrayed Nightcrawler in the 2003 movie, recently called X2 the “gayest film” he has ever been a part of.
Now, David Hunter, who was behind the X-Men and X2 movies has responded to Cumming’s revelation, saying that the decision to allow the film to shine a light on LGBTQ+ issues was a purposeful one.
“That line when Bobby Iceman’s mother says to him, ‘Have you ever tried not being a mutant?’, it’s just so devastating, and it really illustrates what people go through when they’re facing bigotry in their own houses.
“You cannot be what you are not, and the fact that people want you to be something you are not is so painful and so difficult to face.”
He continued: “That was definitely done on purpose and that was definitely done to reach out to anybody on the LGBTQ spectrum that’s feeling shut out by the world.
“The point of the X-Men is that we are all worthy of respect and we all have human value, and it was to reach out to anyone who is feeling that [way].”
Cumming spoke to Entertainment Weekly for The Traitors, but recalled his work on the film: “I think the X-Men film I’m in is the gayest film that I’ve ever done, and that’s me saying that.
“It’s got a queer director, lots of queer actors in it. I love the fact that something so mainstream and so in the comic book world is so queer.”
He continued: “I think, in a way, those sorts of films really help people understand queerness, because you can address it in an artistic way, and everyone is less scared of the concept.
“It’s an allegory about queerness, about people having these great gifts and really great, powerful things that they have to hide to exist. Queer people understand what that’s all about.”
