15 TV & Movie Characters Who Should Have Been Queer

There's always some missed opportunities somewhere!

As queer representation becomes more prevalent in media, despite some pushback, it's hard not to look back at some of the missed opportunities through TV and movies.

Here's a look at 15 of the most iconic and memorable TV and movie characters who totally should have been placed on the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

Michel Gerard, 'Gilmore Girls'

Michel Gerard brought the sass, the humor, the looks, and everything that is queer culture, and if he were written again in this day and age, he'd most certainly be out and proud. His sexuality is almost like the elephant in the room because it was never outwardly addressed in the show as it should have been.

Chuck Bass, 'Gossip Girl'

This one's mostly canonical, because in the books that inspired the show, written by Cecily von Ziegesar, Chuck Bass is bisexual. The show completely misses the storyline where he and Dan both date a guy named Greg, who failed to appear in the series at all.

Barney Stinson, 'How I Met Your Mother'

Yes, okay, there's an added level of irony that the womanizing, self-indulgent businessman is played by openly gay actor Neil Patrick Harris, but really, Barney's overall energy really read as a closeted man who never felt like he could truly be himself, despite having an openly gay brother, who's also basically the only representation of anyone from the LGBTQ+ community on the show anyway.

Miss Frizzle, 'The Magic School Bus'

I mean, come on, Ms. Valerie Frizzle is the headliner of a show called The Magic School Bus, and she's just too absolutely fabulous to not belong anywhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

Rick O'Connell, 'The Mummy'

Hear me out for a second here, because even i-D did an in-depth analysis of how The Mummy Returns is basically gay. For main character Rick O'Connell, played by Oscar winner Brendan Fraser, the character lacks the same hypermasculinity seen throughout the rest of the film and is likely to be bisexual. The high-waisted pants, tucked-in button-up, cuffed sleeves, and sleek parted hairstyle?

Luke Skywalker & Leia Organa, 'Star Wars'

It isn't entirely uncommon for twins to share a sexual preference, but wouldn't it have been awesome if Luke and Leia were an iconic fraternal gay/lesbian twin force to be reckoned with (no pun intended.) There are plenty of thoughts on whether or not Luke is gay, which goes way back into the fandom, but even Mark Hamill addressed the perspective with Vanity Fair and said it was up to the viewer to interpret.

Finn & Poe, 'Star Wars'

While we're in the Star Wars verse, let's just briefly talk about how rude it was for them to taunt and tease us with the idea of Finn and Poe, a perfectly beautiful interracial gay relationship just prime for the making, and totally squash the idea. Since Disney allegedly "didn't feel comfortable" exploring it, I will remain annoyed at the ignorance.

Merlin & Arthur, 'Merlin'

Sure, technically there's no real reference anywhere to a romantic relationship between Merlin and Arthur, but the chemistry between the two on the Merlin TV show missed an opportunity to tweak the story, just a bit.

Chad Danforth & Ryan Evans, 'High School Musical'

I almost feel strange even including this because of how obvious it is, and even director Kenny Ortega admitted that Ryan would have been open about his sexuality later in life. However, considering Disney's stance on Finn and Poe, they probably just "didn't feel comfortable" allowing these two characters to really shine.

Fred Jones, 'Scooby-Doo'

Sure, yes, everyone assumes Velma is a lesbian (which, according to the HBO reboot, she is), but what about Fred Jones? The ascot, the perfect hair, the take-charge attitude? Plus, Sarah Michelle Gellar admitted there was a line about Fred's sexuality cut from the live-action film, and admitted the earlier cut was "less family friendly."

Sheldon Cooper, 'The Big Bang Theory'

Actor Jim Parsons knows how to break our gay hearts, but his super popular The Big Bang Theory character, Sheldon Cooper, deserved to be a part of the asexual community.

Jughead Jones, 'Riverdale'

While we're bemoaning a lack of asexual representation, let us not forget about Riverdale's Jughead Jones, of whom Archie Comics clearly stated was asexual. Still, the producers insisted that the character should at least "explore" some heteronormative relationships before "reaching that conclusion."

Alison Reynolds, 'The Breakfast Club'

They did Alison Reynolds a little dirty in The Breakfast Club with the whole "makeover" thing that essentially erased all the queerness her character represented, and it would have been nice if she'd have been able to be a little more comfortable in her own skin. That said, it wasn't easy to show representation in the '80s, but we'd like to hope she'd be able to explore her sexuality if the movie was rewritten today.

Stiles Stilinski, 'Teen Wolf'

First of all, we missed out on some really steamy scenes between Stiles Stilinski and Derek Hale, and the way the show aggressively hinted at Stilinski's bisexuality even had fans accusing creator Jeff Davis and the show of queerbaiting. It's a real shame he was never allowed to fully be the bicon that he is.

Mystique, 'X-Men'

Miss Raven Darkholme takes gender fluidity to the extreme in the X-Men series, and the source material sees her exploring relationships with both male and female characters. The character, most recently played by Jennifer Lawrence, has yet to explore any of her bisexuality in the 16 years since the X-verse has come to the big screen.