Even superheroes cry sometimes.
On Thursday, actor Haaz Sleiman teased his upcoming on-screen kiss with costar Brian Tyree Henry, tellingNewNowNextthat filming theEternalslove scene — Marvel’s firstLGBTQsmooch — was emotional for everyone on set.
“It’s a beautiful, very moving kiss,” said Sleiman, 43. “Everyone cried on set.”
In the upcoming blockbuster — which also starsAngelina Jolie,Richard Madden,Salma Hayek,Kit Harringtonand arecently rippedKumail Nanjiani— Sleiman plays the husband of Henry’s Phastos, the first openly gay superhero for Marvel after more than a decade of tentpoleAvengersfilms.
“For me, it’s very important to show how loving and beautiful a queer family can be,” Sleiman said. “Brian Tyree Henry is such a tremendous actor and brought so much beauty into this part, and at one point I saw a child in his eyes, and I think it’s important for the world to be reminded that we in the queer community were all children at one point.”
He continued: “We forget that because we’re always depicted as sexual or rebellious; we forget to connect on that human part.”
Haaz Sleiman and Brian Tyree Henry play Marvel’s first gay couple on screen inEternals.MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty; Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, previously confirmed thatThe Eternalswould include substantial representation for the LGBTQ community, saying in August that the character would be married and have a family — “and that isjustpartof who he is.”
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Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
Inclusion of a same-sex romance storyline inThe Eternalscomes after Marvel has been criticized for touting LGBTQ representation in past films without delivering more than a brief, negligible scene.
Other major big-screen franchises have inspired disappointed fans who wanted more LGBTQ inclusion, including the latestStar Warsfilm, also a Disney release, in which fans were promised a same-sex kiss and given a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it lesbian embrace in the background of one shot.
The Eternalsis in theaters on Nov. 6, 2020.
source: people.com
