At the premiere of Eternals, Haaz Sleiman -- who one plays half of Marvel Studios' first openly gay couple -- spoke about the impact the film has in its representation.In an interview with Variety, Sleiman was asked what it means for him -- as a gay actor -- to be playing the husband of a gay superhero in a Marvel movie. "Beyond a dream come true. It's lifesaving," he said. "I wish I had that when I was a kid growing up, to see this. My god, I wish."
"Can you imagine how many lives this is going to be saving?"Â Sleiman continued. "Kids, you know, young queer folk who are either being bullied, committing suicide, not seeing themselves being represented. And now they get to see this."
Sleiman also touched on the importance of racial diversity in the film. "The fact that Brian [Tyree Henry] is also Black, you know, that's also beautiful to me. We're both people of color," the actor explained. "Marvel and Disney could not be any more global, there's nothing more global than that."
Eternals marks the first time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that a hero is depicted as openly gay with a husband and a child. Sleiman plays the husband of Phastos (Henry), and he previously explained, "I feel lucky, and I'm grateful. "I don't want to sound arrogant, but I feel like Marvel, they were smart to cast me in it because I got to humanize the hell out of it. I got to humanize the LGBTQ+ family and show how beautiful they are." Sleiman has also teased that the couple share "a beautiful, very moving kiss."
While Eternals has received a PG-13 rating in the United States, the film has been rated 18+ in Russia, equivalent to an NC-17 rating in the States. Fans have speculated that the rating was given in regards to the "brief sexuality" in the film, specifically the relationship between Phastos and his husband. Because it's illegal to "normalize" LGBTQ+ sexualities and identities to children in Russia, the film cannot be marketed towards, nor viewed by children in the country. The director of the film, Chloé Zhao, is working with Marvel Studios to stop the censorship of LGBTQ+ representation in overseas markets.
Eternals releases in theaters on Nov. 5.
Source: Twitter