Marvel's Avengers: Endgame
shattered box office records this weekend, raking in $1.2 billion in
ticket sales. The movie will also be known for including Marvel's
first gay character.
Joe Russo, who co-directed the film
with brother Anthony Russo, plays an unnamed man who lost his partner
during the war. The man shares his story with a support group for
people who lost loved ones to Thanos at the end of Avengers:
Infinity War.
He talks about going on a first date
since losing his partner and describes how the two men wept over
their lost loves ones.
Russo told Deadline that he and
his brother felt it was important to include such a character in the
movie franchise.
“Representation is really important,”
Russo
said. “It was important to us as we did four of these films, we
wanted a gay character somewhere in them. We felt it was important
that one of us play him, to ensure the integrity and show it is so
important to the filmmakers that one of us is representing that.”
“As filmmakers of a massive franchise
we're saying, we support you,” Russo added.
(Related: Marvel
executive says world is ready for a gay superhero.)