We're entering a watershed moment for diversity and representation in both Hollywood and film, and that holds true for mainstream blockbuster cinema like the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This year, the Ryan Coogler helmed Black Panther proved not only to be a great superhero film, but also a celebration African cultures that showed the world a reality, in which that beautiful continent is allowed to reclaim it's narrative. Wakanda exists without Western exploitation and it's characters, are allowed to be unabashedly their own.
With films like Black Panther and last years Wonder Woman, the profitability and opportunity for those voices and people who were normally shunned from mainstream cinema, are ever expanding.
These films celebrated diversity on screen, and afforded opportunity to diverse creatives behind them. The staggering success that followed these films clearly showed, that if you allow minorities to tell their stories, with the uniqueness and authority of their perspective; that representation will echo both in the hearts and wallets of the audience.
This has not gone unnoticed by Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige who, when talking to Entertainment Weekly, was asked that following Black Panther and with the Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck directed Captain Marvel approaching, if we'll see more women and people of colour in the MCU, to which he replied:
Yes. I think we’re seeing it shift from a very purposeful initiative to just a fact of life, to just a way of doing business. Then there are people we hired that we’re not ready to announce in all different capacities, particularly behind the camera. As Panther has so loudly declared, [representation] can only help you, can only help you tell unique stories, can only help you do things in a new, and unique, and fresh, and exciting way. If you do that, audiences will notice it, and appreciate it, and support it.
This isn't the first time that Feige has made a commitment to diversity and representation, and it's honestly refreshing to hear such a worldwide, financial giant like the MCU make a conscious effort to represent that world.
Life is wide, and so too should cinema be. What's more, with the stage set for a very different and eclectic Phase 4, following the finale event that is Avengers: Infinity Wat, it will be very exciting to see how this manifests itself going forward. But one thing is for sure, be it more female characters, people of colour or LGBT representation on screen - it's about time.
Are you happy to hear Feige commit to more diversity? Which minority characters do think deserve their time in the spotlight? Do you think we'll finally see an LGBT superhero in next phase? Leave your thoughts below.