After we all nearly perished in the MCU’s desert of queer representation over the past decade, Marvel Studios looks to have finally gotten the message and has promised to deliver transgender and nonbinary excellence in a big way.
Sources confirmed that transmasculine actor Zoe Terakes (they/he) has been cast in Marvel’s upcoming Ironheart series slated for release on Disney+, playing an as-yet unspecified role, Deadline reported on Wednesday. Terakes will be joined by Drag Race star Shea Couleé, whose role is also being kept under wraps.
In a Tweet confirming his casting, Terakes wrote he was “unbelievably stoked.”
“this one’s for the trans guys n girls n theys,” they added. “so much love.”
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Terakes is best known for his previous role on the Australian prison drama Wentworth as Reb Keane, a trans man imprisoned for robbery after getting caught up in a cult. They also appeared in the Hulu adaptation of Nine Perfect Strangers, playing an employee at Nicole Kidman’s ominous “Tranquillum House.”
Couleé also spoke about their involvement in the series to E! News this week, saying the experience and opportunity to bring their drag to the MCU was “humbling.”
“Everyone at Marvel has been so unbelievably open and receptive to my experiences and my expertise about drag,” they said, “and they’ve allowed me to really come into the MCU and put my very specific Shea Couleé print on the Marvel Universe.”
Terakes and Couleé aren’t the first non-cis actors in the MCU — that distinction belongs to Zach Barack, who played a minor role in 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. Now, however, it looks like we’ll be seeing the first major trans and nonbinary roles in the MCU, and given Disney’s growing cinematic monopoly, we’re at least glad to see Our People securing some bags of their own.
Ironheart, which stars Dominique Thorne as young Black tech genius Riri Williams, is currently in production with a forthcoming release date.
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