Writer-director Joss Whedon has said
he's ready to write a strong gay male character.
The 47-year-old Whedon is best known
for creating the teen drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its
spinoff Angel. He's also the man behind Fox's Firefly
and Dollhouse. And Whedon has continued to contribute to the
Buffy universe by writing several comics for Dark Horse
Comics.
During a Q&A at Comic Con in San
Diego, Whedon, who has written lesbian characters, was asked for his
reaction to the LGBT community's embrace of his characters.
“Well, I'm against it,” Whedon, an
atheist, joked, then added, “They're making the Lord angry.”
“You didn't think I was going to
bring up Alien Resurrection but I am,” he added. “When I
was writing it, discovering the idea of clone Ripley and robo Nona
kind of coming to terms with the idea of being considered less than
human despite the fact that they were both powerful and beautiful and
internalizing that and feeling like an underclass of human being.”
“This is a powerful metaphor. In
particular for the gay community. And for teenagers who are
struggling with that. And ultimately it's a metaphor for everybody
who feels like an outsider, but that was my first thought. That that
was what made it interesting. And Buffy was basically a sort
of extension of that, that kind of storytelling. I didn't actively
go out with an agenda, but it absolutely means everything to me that
the gay communities have embraced the shows because they are for them
as much or more than anyone else.”
When asked whether he would consider
writing an out-and-proud male character, Whedon said, “Yeah,
totally. Absolutely.”
“I have actually wanted to do a
book,” he continued. “I have a particular one in mind. It's not
on the front burner. But I do think it's about time. At some point,
you write enough lesbians, people realize: This is just a guy. This
isn't feminism, this is Cinemax.”
“I think it's time for a little equal
opportunity,” he added, then joked: “Besides, who doesn't love
cock?”
(Related: Joss
Whedon joins gay marriage group NOH8 Campaign.)