Director Joe Russo Has a Gay Cameo Role in 'Avengers: Endgame'

Warning! Minor spoilers for Avengers: Endgame ahead!

Is Joe Russo playing the MCU's first queer character? Yes, you heard right. The Russo brother is stepping into the Avengers saga in a background part for the first act of Avengers: Endgame.

While the hype is real for what is sure to be a mega-hit opening weekend, Marvel seems to be footnoting this tidbit of information regarding one of the upcoming film's directors. Apparently, Russo plays a man in the background of a primary establishing scene, and is heard mourning the loss of his male lover.

"Representation is really important," Joe Russo said in an interview with Deadline. "It was important to us as we did four of these films, we wanted a gay character somewhere in them."

But is this truly the kind of representation LGBTs need in our big-budget studio films? In the words of Lady Gaga from American Horror Story: Hotel, "Goddesses don't whisper, they scream."

Fortunately for queer Marvel fans, better forms of representation might be coming sooner than previously thought, with a reportedly gay superhero leading the charge for Marvel's latest property, The Eternals. Casting has been on the hunt for a queer lead for the last month and a half—and we're hoping that this time it's more than just a cameo.