Eternals actor Haaz Sleiman has talked about his role in the upcoming Marvel film, which features the MCU’s first LGBTQ+ romance.
Speaking to NewNowNext, and reported by Screen Rant, the actor said he hadn’t yet seen the movie, but did share some details about the film: “If I’m not Angelina Jolie or Salma Hayek, you know I haven’t seen it. It’s my first Marvel film, so of course I’m excited.”
He added: “My gut feeling is you’ll be so proud. What Marvel has been able to accomplish, I’m so proud of them because they approached it in a very thoughtful way, and Phastos is one of the biggest superheroes in the film. I’m his husband, an architect; we have a child. Even though I wished I was the superhero, because when will we see an Arab Muslim openly gay actor playing a superhero? I can’t wait to see it.”
The film will feature a kiss between Phastos, played by Brian Tyree Henry, and his husband, as Sleiman has previously revealed. This will be the first LGBTQ+ kiss in an MCU movie, and after 13 years and 23 films, it’s definitely about time.
Eternals is also set to be another cosmic entry into the MCU, following a group of ancient aliens who’ve been living secretly on earth for millennia – and will introduce a new threat, The Deviants.
Not much else is known about Eternals yet, though a recent leak has shown off the main characters in costume, and a toy leak possibly revealed more about a potential villain in the movie. Director Chloé Zhao has also considered how Eternals could go “further and bigger” than Avengers: Endgame, so expect great things from this MCU movie.
Along with Sleiman and Henry, the film stars Angelina Jolie as Thena, Salma Hayek as Ajak, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, Gemma Chan as Sersi, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Ma Dong-seok as Gilgamesh, Lia McHugh as Sprite, Lauren Riddloff as Majjari, Barry Keoghan as Druig, and Kit Harington as Dane Whitman.
Eternals arrives to theaters November 5 2021, and is part of Marvel Phase 4. In the meantime, check out how to watch Marvel movies in order for the ultimate catch-up marathon.
