Here's Everything Queer Announced By Marvel At San Diego Comic-Con

Phases 5 and 6 are about to be very queer!

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe were treated to a ton of new content and sneak peeks this weekend during Marvel Studios’ annual Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con. The studio gave updates on its slate of new and returning movies, TV shows, characters, and casting announcements. Most importathly, there were a handful of exciting new announcements that are sure to make LGBTQ+ Marvel fans very happy.

In recent years the MCU has improved when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation, though there is still of course room for further improvement. In 2021, Eternals introduced the first gay superhero of the franchise, Phastos (played by Brian Tyree Henry), and the Loki TV show confirmed that the titular character is not only pansexual but also gender-fluid. 

While several other LGBTQ+ comic book characters have been introduced to the MCU recently, many of them don’t go as far as acknowledging their queerness on-screen. This is disappointing but many fans hold out hope that Marvel is setting things up for these coming-out storylines to play out over time.

There are also certain characters that queer Marvel fans clock as being queer-coded — and of course, there are a few same-sex duos that we love to “ship” on social media.

Here’s every queer character, storyline, and ship that Marvel Studios has confirmed (and a few speculated potentials) that are heading our way in Phase 5 and Phase 6.

Michaela Coel Confirmed as The Queer Character Aneka in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You, Chewing Gum) has officially been cast as the character of Aneka in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In the comics, Aneka is a queer woman and a member of the king’s guard, the Dora Milaje.

In the comics Aneka and Ayo (Florence Kasumba) are a couple. Odds are good that Aneka’s sexuality will be actually addressed in the film.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premieres November 11, 2022 in theaters.

Jameela Jamil Confirmed on ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’

Best known for playing Tahani Al-Jamil on The Good Place and as a judge on Legendary, queer actor Jameela Jamil has officially joined the cast of the upcoming Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Jamil will play Titania, who has battled against She-Hulk numerous times in the comics.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premieres August 17 on Disney+.

‘Loki’ Season 2

The first season of Loki made a lot of headlines for confirming that Loki is pansexual and gender-fluid. Despite being originally produced as a limited series, Loki is now officially coming back for a second season, which was announced by Marvel Studios at the San Diego Comic-Con.

Loki season two premieres summer 2023 on Disney+.

‘Ironheart’ TV Series

Riri Williams a.k.a. Ironheart will first be introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In the comics, the character is canonically bisexual.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ironheart will be played by actress Dominique Thorne (If Beale Street Could Talk, Judas and the Black Messiah). After appearing in the Black Panther sequel, the character will get her own TV series, Ironheart, on Disney+. While nothing was said about Armor Wars at the San Diego Comic-Con, that show is reportedly still happening as well – with Ironheart being a part of it.

Ironheart premieres in the fall of 2023 on Disney+.

Yelena in ‘Thunderbolts’

Yelena Belova is asexual in the comics – something that hasn’t yet been properly explored in the MCU. With that said, fans are excited to see Yelena (played by Florence Pugh) again in the upcoming Thunderbolts movie, which was just announced at Comic-Con.

Thunderbolts premieres July 26, 2024 in theaters.

Maria Hill in ‘Secret Invasion’

Played by Cobie Smulders, Maria Hill has had a long, long, longhistory in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that goes as far back as 2012’s The Avengers. Since then, the character has been seen in numerous MCU movies.

Maria identifies as a lesbian in the comics, something that the Marvel movies still haven’t fully addressed. However, the character is now confirmed to appear in the new Disney+ series Secret Invasion… and let’s just say that we’re rooting for her to get a coming out storyline!

Secret Invasion premieres in the spring of 2023 on Disney+.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’: Possibly More Star-Lord & Thor Shipping

Certain LGBTQ+ fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been shipping Thor and Peter Quill (a.k.a. Star-Lord) ever since the trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder came out. Even though Peter is bisexual in the comics, that particular fun fact about the character hasn’t been explored in the MCU.

Nonetheless, there’s a chance that shippers of Thor and Star-Lord will get even more footage of this duo in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 sequel.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 premieres May 5, 2023 in theaters.

‘Captain America: New World Order’: Possibly More Falcon & Bucky Shipping

Another duo that gets a lot of shipping on social media is Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan), particularly after the release of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+. In fact, many fans highly speculate that Bucky is bisexual in the MCU.

Marvel has now announced an official premiere date for Captain America: New World Order starring Mackie as the new Captain America, and fans are hopeful that there will be even more scenes from this bromance.

Captain America: New World Order premieres May 3, 2024 in theaters.

‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ Renaming

A lot of LGBTQ+ fans live for a messy, powerful, and unpredictable antagonist. On WandaVision, Agatha Harkness gave us absolutely everything – including a theme song that got stuck in our heads for many weeks.

At Comic-Con, Marvel Studios announced a minor change regarding Agatha’s upcoming spin-off series: it will now be called Agatha: Coven of Chaos instead of Agatha: House of Harkness. The original title may have been more camp and queer, but we still can’t wait to see the return of this wicked witch.

Agatha: Coven of Chaos premieres in the winter of 2023 on Disney+.

Harry Styles’ MCU Future As Eros

During an interview with MTV News, MCU boss Kevin Feige talked about Harry Styles’ future in the franchise. Styles was first introduced as the character of Eros / Starfox during a post-credits scene in Eternals.

 “The adventures of Eros and Pip is something that is very exciting for us. As you start to see, we’ve got the supernatural angles [in the Marvel Cinematic Universe], we’ve got the street level… and cosmic, and that’s where our friends Eros and Pip live.”

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