Marvel's Black Panther movie to feature first LGBTQ couple in MCU?

Marvel's Black Panther movie is making headlines again not only because it features 90 percent black actors, but also due to rumours of MCU's first gay couple.

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As the demand of fans has been growing stronger to feature casts of different race, religion and sexuality, Black Panther will probably break the barrier as to fulfil the demand. The first lesbian couple of MCU is likely to debut in the upcoming Marvel movie.

During an annual Disney shareholders meeting, a few critics and press members were shown a sneak peek from the movie. And in a footage, a couple of Dora Milaje bodyguards grabbed everyone's attention. The female warriors of Wakandan, Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Ayo (Florence Kasumba) were shown in a boat. And their flirty conversation kept everyone talking but nothing is revealed yet about the character's sexuality.

The pair was reportedly complimenting each other in the clip which also portrays a very sexual chemistry between the two warriors. And according to MOVIEWEB, the chemistry was shared between two women in Black Panther movie.

However, the Black Panther comics have not shied away from showing gay relationships. Even a recent spin-off of the comics named World of Wakanda had put two Dora Milaje warriors named Ayo and Aneka in a lesbian relationship.

Do gay characters really exist in Marvel Cinematic Universe?

During the promotion of Guardians of the Galaxy movie, director James Gunn had revealed about the possibility of gay characters' existence in the MCU.

"You know, somebody asked me, 'Will there be any gay characters in Marvel movies?' and what I meant was there's a lot of characters in the MCU and very few of them that we've delved into what their sexuality is. Whether it's gay or straight or bisexual, we don't really know. Um, so I imagine that there are probably, you know, gay characters in the Marvel universe, you know, we just don't know who they are yet," he was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

Currently, Marvel is tight-lipped because films like Beauty and the Beast and Power Rangers faced backlash in the past for containing LGBTQ characters.

Apart from Chadwick Boseman portraying Black Panther, the movie also features Michael B Jordan, Sterling K Brown, Lupita Nyong'o, Angela Bassett and Winston Duke.

Marvel's Black Panther will be seen in upcoming Avengers: Infinity War movie. The movie will open in theatres on February 9, 2018 (UK) and February 16, 2018 (US).