GLAAD’s Studio Responsibility Index also praised movies like ‘Love, Simon’ but criticized the lack of trans characters in any major Hollywood release last year.
Disney is riding high on the success of Avengers: Endgame, but the studio has been called out by GLAAD for the lack of LGBTQ characters in its films last year.
According to the media watchdog’s 2019 Studio Responsibility Index (SRI), Walt Disney Studios « has the weakest history when it comes to LGBTQ inclusion » of the seven major Hollywood studios it tracked for accurate and diverse representation.
The House of Mouse released ten films in 2018—including Black Panther, Incredibles 2 and A Wrinkle in Time. But, according to Thursday’s report, none contained any openly LGBTQ characters.
Chadwick Boseman in ‘Black Panther.’ Matt Kennedy/Marvel Studios
Disney has been praised for its inclusive policies—Disneyland Paris will host the first Disney theme park Pride event on June 1—but blockbuster franchises like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies rely heavily on international box office. Incorporating overtly queer characters means possible protest or censorship in oppressive regions. (The Russian dub of Endgamereportedly tweaked a scene where a gay man discusses his dating life.)
In 2017, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn came under fire for saying, « There are probably gay characters in the Marvel universe, we just don’t know who they are yet.” Since then, Marvel Studio heads have repeatedly promised that more diverse representations are coming: “You’re gonna see even more new faces—and faces from all different background, all ages, all ethnicities, LGBTQ, people who are differently abled,” casting director Sarah Halley Finn told Vulture in April.
Disney’s Jungle Cruise, due out July 2020, will be the first film under the Walt Disney Pictures imprint with an openly gay character: English comedian Jack Whitehall is slated to play McGregor Houghton, described as « hugely effete, very camp, and very funny.
