The Babysitter’s Club star Xochitl Gomez has been confirmed by Disney and Marvel to be playing lesbian teen superhero America Chavez in the upcoming film Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness.
The film, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, Rachel McAdams, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, will be directed by Sam Raimi, and will have direct ties to the series WandaVision, as well as the next Spider-Man film. It will be released March 25, 2022.
America Chavez is a dimension-hopping, super strong teenaged Latina superhero who has the ability to fly and is known in the comics for her amazing style, quick tongue, and way with the ladies. She is also sometimes referred to as Miss America.
Chavez rose to popularity as a part of the Young Avengers team of teen superheroes, before later starring in her own comic series by Gabby Rivera. She’s long been a fan favorite, especially among queer people and Latinx fans.
Some fans, however, feel disappointed in the casting, as Chavez has often been portrayed as Afro-Latina in the comics. The character is technically not even from Earth, but was adopted by a Puerto Rican family in the Bronx when she came to our world.
It’s clear from these announcements that a Young Avengers movie or series can’t be far off. Not only are we getting America Chavez, but several other potential Young Avengers were announced.
Ms. Marvel, played by Iman Vellani, will not only be getting her own show on Disney+ in late 2021, but will also appear in Captain Marvel 2. Hailee Steinfeld was officially announced as Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, and we learned that Kathryn Newton is playing Cassie Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Finally, an Ironheart series starring Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams was announced.
There’s also Wiccan and Speed, the twin sons of Scarlet Witch and Vision, who seem to appear as infants in the WandaVision series.
Other LGBTQ+ characters in the MCU include Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson, who will be getting a female love interest in the next Thor movie, and Phastos, a gay member of the Eternals played by Brian Tyree Henry with his husband played by Haaz Sleiman. There’s also been a rumor that Loki will be portrayed as bisexual in his upcoming Disney+ series, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
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