As Marvel Studios begins its search for the cast of the 2020 feature film, The Eternals, we at That Hashtag Show have learned that they are looking to cast an openly gay actor for a lead role in the film.

During the press coverage of Ant-Man and The Wasp last year, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige stated that the studio was working towards bringing a new, LGBTQ character to the mix in the near future. As it turns out, that future is nearly upon us as the studio searches for an actor, 30-49, who “physically looks like a superhero” for one of the film’s leads. While the studio is open to actors of all ethnicity, they would prefer the role to go to an openly gay actor.

Over the past several years, Marvel Studios has made an impressive effort to make films more representative of the modern world and this is another example of them making good on that. This role will mark the first time Marvel Studios has featured an openly gay male as a lead as this character will have a major presence in the film alongside the other leads expected to be Sersi, Ikaris and “Piper.” The studio is going to great lengths to keep the identity of the character a secret and it would take away from the focus of this piece to speculate on the identity of the character her.

While rumors have swirled to the contrary, the film is still scheduled to begin filming in the UK on September 9th of this year and continue filming through January of 2020. With cameras set to roll in just over 6 months, the studio is already actively searching for candidates to fill several roles and, we are told, may have already identified a favorite for the role of Ikaris. Additionally, director Chloe Zhao has expressed interest in Cameron Britton (The Umbrella Academy) and Polish actor Tomasz Kot for a supporting role in the film that requires an imposing physical presence. No offers have been made to either of these actors at the time of publishing.

Stay tuned to That Hashtag Show for more on this story as it develops.