The much awaited premiere of ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ is almost here, and writers Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan recently opened up about the LGBTQ+ representation in the upcoming superhero film.
The gay character in the sequel is Pedro Peña, who is portrayed by actors Jovan Armand and D.J. Cotrona.
“The only new addition for this movie is being a lot more forthright about Pedro being gay. And that was hinted at in the first movie very subtly,” Gayden shared in an interview with Dorkacholics.
He further explained the importance of representation in the upcoming movie, expressing:
“And I thought it was really important and really, really fought for us including that and bringing that to the fore in this movie.”
The screenwriter was referring to the first film’s scene wherein the Shazam kids are transported to a strip club, and Pedro says that it’s “not [his] thing.” And after the subtle hint in 2019’s
‘Shazam!,’ the sequel is expected to address the matter directly, as per Gayden’s statement.
Aside from the LGBTQ+ representation, the disability representation with Freddy, portrayed by actors Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody, as well as the non-traditional family dynamic of the Shazamily will be further highlighted in the upcoming film.
Moreover, ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ is set to be released in theaters on March 17.
Sources: thedirect.com, movieweb.com, imdb.com
Happy to have a cute gay character to root for. Thank you for fighting for a gay character to be in the movie. My dream would be for a gay superhero movie.