Recent events have really shown the dark – that is noninclusive – sides of some fandom communities. Whether it’s out of a conservative view and respect for the source material, or social, political, religious, we’ve been seeing a whole lot of it. Disney fans are busy debating the casting of black actress Halle Bailey as the Little Mermaid; and Marvel fans have been throwing a fit about vocal feminist Brie Larson as Captain Marvel.
So it was, unfortunately, more a question of “when” rather than “if” DC fans would reject the recent news that Black Mask will be portrayed by Ewan McGregor as a homosexual in the upcoming film, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).
That’s not to say that all the reception’s been negative. Plenty of fans have flocked towards the announcement with praise, given the lack of representation in the superhero genre, and you can check out some of those tweets down below.
https://twitter.com/BatFamilyTalk/status/1148736650975076352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1148736650975076352&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gaytimes.co.uk%2Fculture%2F124571%2Fewan-mcgregors-upcoming-portrayal-of-flamboyant-gay-villain-in-birds-of-prey-met-with-polarized-reception%2F
https://twitter.com/BenCruz18073020/status/1149199476566814720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1149199476566814720&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gaytimes.co.uk%2Fculture%2F124571%2Fewan-mcgregors-upcoming-portrayal-of-flamboyant-gay-villain-in-birds-of-prey-met-with-polarized-reception%2F
https://twitter.com/barbie_megatron/status/1148991392267538438?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1148991392267538438&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gaytimes.co.uk%2Fculture%2F124571%2Fewan-mcgregors-upcoming-portrayal-of-flamboyant-gay-villain-in-birds-of-prey-met-with-polarized-reception%2F
https://twitter.com/suplexinferno/status/1148957933478301697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1148957933478301697&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gaytimes.co.uk%2Fculture%2F124571%2Fewan-mcgregors-upcoming-portrayal-of-flamboyant-gay-villain-in-birds-of-prey-met-with-polarized-reception%2F
Black Mask being a gay character in #BirdsOfPrey is a good thing.
His SEXUALITY hasn't been explicity mentioned in the comics so if the director wants to make this take, i'm totally okay with it.
Plus the leaked "Spoilers" made me more excited for the film pic.twitter.com/XM7vLopb4l
— 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊 (@MarkOnFilm) July 10, 2019
With that said, there’ll always be two sides to every coin. And unfortunately when it comes to this issue, the other side isn’t one we want to flip.
Here are some of those tweets:
It sounds like a flamboyant portrayal of a gay character for pure shock value; that should offend anyone wanting a well developed film with fully flushed out characters. #BlackMask sounds like a caricature in the worst way that will only drive down the box office.
— Missionary_J (@moviemanj) July 9, 2019
So Black Mask is a flamboyantly gay stereotype who is looking for Dick pics hidden away in a diamond. I was interested in this movie @wbpictures I thought you weren't fucking up shit anymore? What the fuck is this? Time for a mostly reboot. pic.twitter.com/zjZ2X8jcos
— CobaltKnight52 is The Right Kind of Off-Brand. (@CobaltKnight26) July 9, 2019
how the fuck is black mask going to be “flamboyantly gay” what goes on ?!
— hil (@anakinsazarath) July 9, 2019
Birds of Prey is gonna have lesbian icon Renee Montoya, explore Harley’s bisexuality, AND make Black Mask a gay icon? We have to stan https://t.co/6OtBT2s75p
— Col ❄️ (@AgathasTheme) July 8, 2019
Well, no matter what his sexuality is, it seems the character’s plight against Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) will be quite the event. Insiders close to the film have said McGregor’s turn as the Gotham crime boss is one of the best superhero villains ever. And this Tweet from @Mikey_Talks suggests the same thing.
https://twitter.com/Mikey_Talks/status/1148754356973514754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1148754356973514754&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gaytimes.co.uk%2Fculture%2F124571%2Fewan-mcgregors-upcoming-portrayal-of-flamboyant-gay-villain-in-birds-of-prey-met-with-polarized-reception%2F
We want to know though, where do you sit on this topic? Are you excited for a gay Black Mask in Birds of Prey? Or does this news extinguish your anticipation for the film? Drop us a comment below and tell us your thoughts.