During an interview with Variety, actor Ian McKellen talked about blockbuster movies and the LGBTIQ community. The legendary actor is best known for his roles as Gandalf in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, and Magneto in the X-Men shared universe. Regarding comic book movies, the X-Men series can be said to be about minorities and how the majority perceives them.
However, despite the fact that in 2000 the X-Men series kick-started a new comic book movie era, it still hasn't featured a major LGBTIQ character.
I wouldn't say the films coming out of the mainstream are quite as related to what's going on in the real world as I would like them to be. One indication of that is LGBT people don't really get quite a big enough say. If you're one of those initials yourself, you do notice that actually these movies are not about me at all.
Of course, this year's Wonder Woman can be considered an exception, given the fact that Diana Prince said that men are essential for procreation, but not so much when it comes to pleasure. And since she lived her entire life until that point on an island populated with just women"¦
So we can see change happening in how these fluid characters translate to the big screen. McKellen commented:
Frankly, looking at the images of some of these superheroes, it's a surprise to me that they aren't gay.
Of course, this comment was tongue-in-cheek, but it does speak volumes.
The interviewer asked the actor about Magneto’s costume. Like many fans, he was a bit disappointed that he didn't get to wear Magneto's iconic apparel:
I wasn't allowed to wear that outfit. I don't look like Magneto in the comics "” always shot from the crotch level.