Fans of Heartstopper were absolutely chuffed and crossing their fingers after hearing rumors that British actor Kit Connor was being considered to play a known LGBTQ+ superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The 20-year-old has been acting since he was just 8 in numerous TV and film projects, including roles in the 2018 films The Mercy, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. He also portrayed a teenaged Elton John in 2019's Rocketman and voiced Pantalaimon in the HBO fantasy series His Dark Materials.
His breakthrough came in 2021 playing Nick Nelson opposite Joe Locke's Charlie character and love interest in Netflix's acclaimed LGBTQ+ teen drama series Heartstopper, based on the eponymous graphic novel by Alice Oseman.
According to the accounts @MyCosmicCircus and @MyTimeToShineH, known for sharing reliable Hollywood inside scoop, the studio is allegedly eyeing Connor to play MCU's Hulkling character, also known as Theodore Rufus "Teddy" Kaplan-Altman.
Hulkling, who is patterned on The Incredible Hulk but with shape-shifting powers and biological pheromone immunity, was first introduced in April 2005 in the Marvel comic Young Avengers #1.
The character discovers he is a hybrid of two alien races, the Skrull and the Kree.
Hulkling is also canonically gay and a prominent figure in the MCU for LGBTQ+ representation, which makes the potential casting of Connor in the role particularly fitting given Connor's bisexuality.
The actor was forced to come out as bi on X (formerly Twitter) in October 2022 after he had been repeatedly harassed with claims of queerbaiting after being photographed holding hands with actor Maia Reficco.
Fans are cautiously anticipating seeing him in a Marvel movie as a prominent LGBTQ+ character.
Heartstopper fans were elated at the prospect of Connor and Locke being romantically linked as Marvel characters when it was announced that Locke was also cast in another MCU project, the upcoming Disney+ show Agatha All Along, a spinoff of 2021's WandaVision centering on Wanda Maximoff, who becomes the Scarlet Witch.
The online buzz was that Locke might be playing Wiccan—a.k.a. William "Billy" Kaplan-Altman—a member of the Young Avengers and a reincarnation of one of Wanda's twin boys.
Wiccan is also a confirmed lover of Hulkling in the Marvel comics.
However, a new trailer for Agatha All Along showed Locke playing another confirmed queer character named Teen.
In Agatha All Along, the title character, played by Kathryn Hahn, attempts to regain her stolen powers after breaking free from the spell Wanda cast on her at the end of WandaVision.
The speculated casting of Locke in Agatha All Along as Wiccan, who with his twin brother was conjured into existence by Wanda, would have been unlikely given the adversarial nature between her and Agatha.
In her new spinoff series, Agatha assembles a coven of witches, including Locke's Teen character, and he appears as an ally, though Screen Rantpointed out that the new trailer teased that Locke could be "a brand-new version of one of the Scarlet Witch's sons."
Still, with the two out Heartbreakers actors both playing gay characters in the MCU, fans believed anything was possible and hoped there might be a strong potential for a crossover with their characters co-existing in some capacity.
With the MCU multi-verse, anything is possible.
Locke told Rolling Stone UK that his character in Agatha All Along helps the title character break free from Wanda's curse.
"We gather a coven and a very unlikely group of women and me – which is my life in general – get on the Witches’ Road," he told the entertainment magazine.
"Then magic, fun, and mystery prevails.”
The 20-year-old actor, who took over the role of Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on Broadway in January, added that Marvel fans can expect “twists and turns” and “different subgenres of comedy” in the new Disney+ series.
He stressed that the show was "definitely darker" and a "little bit scary."
"I think it’s a great start for a new journey within the MCU of exploring different types of characters that aren’t like Iron Man or Captain America. It’s a new type of superhero, which I think is exciting," he said.
Fans will have to wait until September 18 to watch the first two episodes of Agatha All Along, followed by the remaining seven episodes to be released in November.
For now, here's a teaser trailer.
Marvel Television’s Agatha All Along | Teaser Trailer | Disney+youtu.be
And now we wait for confirmation of Connor's casting as Hulkling.
Please?
Meanwhile, Heartstopper season three is scheduled for streaming on Netflix starting on October 3.
Series creator and writer Alice Oseman shared with fans what to expect when Nick and Charlie return for an all-new season as their relationship deepens.
Oseman told Netflix:
“Season 2 ended with Nick beginning to understand the extent of Charlie’s mental health issues, and it’s this that will drive the story through Season 3."
She continued:
“While Heartstopper will always celebrate the joyful and point towards hope, I’m really excited that we are allowing the tone of the show to mature alongside our beloved characters growing up."
"Mental health, sex, university ambitions, and more: Nick, Charlie, and the Heartstopper teens are getting older, learning more about themselves and each other, and experiencing new desires, new fears, and new joys as they approach adulthood.”
