So About the Marvel Casting an Openly Gay Hero in 'The Eternals' Rumor

Right out of the gate, let me make it crystal clear that I am fully onboard with the Marvel Cinematic Universe upping its diversity factor going into Phase 4. The franchise has been rightfully dinged for taking 20 goddamn films to finally feature a female lead, and it was only last year that a Marvel movie had its first non-white lead with Black Panther. (I’m also here for theories that the studio gambled against its success based on the way Wakanda was featured in Avengers: Infinity War.) Granted, I understand that Kevin Feige was held back by Marvel Comics CEO and Trump sycophant Ike Perlmutter for most of the MCU’s development, but that’s all the more reason for Feige to not dick around when it comes to representation. If Disney lets him cast an openly LGBT superhero, I will gleefully spend my days smacking down sad man-children and the stupid outlets they find for their butthurt.

Now that you know where I stand on dragging the MCU into the modern age, let’s talk about the real issue: How quickly horseshit spreads on the internet. (Say “hi,” Momo.) Right now, there’s a rumor bouncing around with a quickness that Marvel is casting an openly gay hero in The Eternals, its upcoming space film that’s banking on turning an obscure title into cash money à la the Guardians of the Galaxy. However, a minor amount of digging points to That Hashtag Show as the primary source of the gay hero rumor, and well, I wouldn’t exactly bet the house on its reporting.

As Marvel Studios begins its search for the cast of the 2020 feature film, The Eternals, we at That Hashtag Show have learned that they are looking to cast an openly gay actor for a lead role in the film.

During the press coverage of Ant-Man and The Wasp last year, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige stated that the studio was working towards bringing a new, LGBTQ character to the mix in the near future. As it turns out, that future is nearly upon us as the studio searches for an actor, 30-49, who “physically looks like a superhero” for one of the film’s leads. While the studio is open to actors of all ethnicity, they would prefer the role to go to an openly gay actor.

Look, I know how hard it is to make a living in this shit-box click-machine industry, so I’m hesitant to blow up someone’s meal ticket, but a good rule of thumb is to generally side-eye a publication who marks every single post as “Exclusive” and whose sourcing is murky AF. On that note, I have noticed a recent trend of bullshit stories getting a surprising amount of traction even though the primary sources are rando sites that no one’s ever heard of.

Here are two examples that took off like rockets just last month:

Lucasfilm is reportedly considering developing a Rose Tico TV Series. (Source: https://t.co/N9rHnxdFv6) pic.twitter.com/LFlxepAkXY

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 18, 2019

Armie Hammer is reportedly in final talks to play Batman in Matt Reeves’ ‘THE BATMAN’. (Source: https://t.co/MsYW57VB1c) pic.twitter.com/RMHao4IbSH

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 18, 2019

At the end of the day, we’re talking about movie rumors, which are probably the least significant thing anyone should be worried about right now. However, they do paint a larger, more concerning picture of how information is absorbed on the internet with nary a f*ck given towards applying basic middle school lessons on primary sources. That’s how goddamn measles are coming back, and an orange toddler hooked on Adderall is horfing down Big Macs in the Lincoln Bedroom because a terrifying chunk of the population believes he was chosen by Jesus to stop the baby killin’.

So maybe this is actually the most important post of our lives? I mean, if you guys want to say that, that’s cool. I won’t fight you on it.