GLAAD's Ninth Annual Studio Responsibility Index, tracking LGBTQ+ representation from the major movie studios in 2020, reports there have been no openly transgender or non-binary characters in a major theatrical release since 2016's Zoolander 2.
GLAAD's report lists and analyzes every LGBTQ+ character appearing in a theatrical release in 2020 from the eight major studios (Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, STX Films, United Artists Releasing, Universal Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros.), with additional notes on representation in arthouse, streaming and independent films. It was harder to draw strong conclusions from 2021 due to the significantly limited samples of films released theatrically that year, leading GLAAD to suspend its usual star ratings for the eight studios.
According to GLAAD's Social Responsibility Indexes, the last character identified as trans or non-binary on-screen in a studio film was the non-binary model All in Zoolander 2, played by cisgender male actor Benedict Cumberbatch, a role widely criticized as an offensive stereotype.
Transgender and non-binary actors have appeared in major studio films since 2016. However, the characters they play have not been identified as such and are therefore not counted in the GLAAD Social Responsibility Index. For example, The Adjudicator in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum was played by non-binary actor Asia Kate Dillon, but because the character's identity or pronouns were never referenced in the film itself, GLAAD did not count The Adjudicator as non-binary representation.
Streaming and independent films have fared better in terms of trans representation. 2020 highlights noted in the GLAAD report include the Netflix releases Alice Junior, The Life Ahead, the documentary Disclosure, 1091 Media's documentary Seahorse and Vertical Entertainment's The True Adventures of Wolfboy. Trans and LGBTQ+ representation on television has far outpaced film over the past four years; GLAAD's most recent Where We Are on TV report noted 9.1% of characters on scripted broadcast television were LGBTQ+ and counted 29 recurring trans characters across broadcast, cable and streaming series.
Each studio's section of the Studio Responsibility Index includes an "Opportunities Ahead" section, highlighting both confirmed LGBTQ+ representation in upcoming films (e.g. Phastos and his husband in Eternals) and opportunities (e.g. confirming Wonder Woman's bisexuality in future DC movies). Upcoming films highlighted as having the potential to improve the state of trans and non-binary representation include Lionsgate's 1Up and future John Wick films, United Artists' What If?, Warner Bros.' Batgirl and the fourth Matrix film. GLAAD also suggests Warner Bros. reconsider its working relationship with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who published a nearly 4,000-word anti-transgender essay in 2020.
Source: GLAAD