Joe Russo's first openly gay character in the MCU won't be the last

As Avengers: Endgame continues to dominate the box office as well as life itself, directors Joe and Anthony Russo have freed themselves from the spoiler ban and are spilling the Infinity Tea all over the place. Thanos no longer demands their silence, and they're just loving it.

In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly Radio, however, the Russos may have teased an upcoming reveal a little early. Thanos may no longer demand their silence, but who knows what MCU boss Kevin Feige will say?

Joe Russo doesn't just have a cameo in Endgame — as part of an early scene in a post-snappening support group, he is revealed to be the first openly gay character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's a very small part, and it arrives in movie #22.

Joe talked about this appearance in the podcast (above), and was asked to clarify whether this character really was the first. "Yes, openly gay," he said. "There’ve been insinuations about other characters’ sexuality, but this is the first openly gay character.”

He may have been talking about Valkyrie, who was said to be bisexual after Thor: Ragnarok was already out in theaters, though her bisexuality didn't play a part in the film itself.

Joe was then asked who else was gay in the MCU, and responded with, "Uhhh ... we’re gonna find out!”

Anthony then chimed in, saying, “That’s a story for another day."

“There is a gay character coming up in one of their films, and I think Kevin [Feige] will make that announcement, I’m sure pretty soon," said Joe, finishing that line of questioning.

That's all well and good, but when exactly is "pretty soon"? According to Variety, Bob Iger revealed during a shareholders' call earlier today that Marvel would be announcing its official slate of upcoming films at some point this summer. Perhaps after Spider-Man: Far From Home officially ends Phase 3 this July, Feige will give us the full rundown of what Phase 4 will include. Perhaps this is also when Feige will fulfill the Russos' prophecy.

Incidentally, Endgame almost included an added moment that could have added some actual on-screen credence to Valkyrie being bisexual. In the same podcast, the Russos discuss a moment between her and Thor during their goodbye scene; actors Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth added a beat where Thor leans in for a kiss after receiving a friendly pat from Valkyrie. She pulls back, very much not interested, and tells Thor that he definitely misread the moment.

Maybe she just wasn't feeling his current "Thor Lebowski" look? Or maybe she's just not into Thor, full stop. The likeliest scenario here, though, is that the moment was just a bit of fun for two actors who have great chemistry, and it had to be cut for time. Perhaps we'll get to see the moment during the 76+ hours of bonus features that the Endgame Blu-ray will hopefully have.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now. Have you heard about it?