Kumail Nanjiani no longer cares about critics of LGBTQ 'Eternals' character

Kumail Nanjiani is least bothered about his latest film, Marvel's Eternals, getting harsh comments panned by the critics denouncing the film's incorporation of LGBTQ+ characters.

Eternals, Marvel's most recent release, has been slammed on IMDb for portraying LGBTQ+ characters in the film even though it had not yet been released to the wider public. According to The Direct, Pakistani-American actor Kumail Nanjiani no longer cares.

Some of the now-deleted complaints and unfavourable reviews were purportedly about Brian Tyree Henry's character Phastos, who is the first openly gay superhero in a Marvel film — but who was not in the comics.

On Thursday, Nanjiani, who is most known for his character Dinesh and also appears in the film as one of the Eternals, took to Twitter to retweet news from MCU The Direct. He responded, "Looks like we're upsetting the right people.”

The Eternals has caused a stir among comic book fans and critics, as the characters' gender, colour, and sexuality were changed in the film version. Furthermore, in the comic books, the character of Kumail Nanjiani was first represented as a Japanese samurai, but was later transformed to a Bollywood movie star.

In 2019, Marvel President Kevin Feige stated that Henry's character Phastos is gay, even though he has the most contentious change. It makes him the first LGBTQ character with a husband and child in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"He's married, he's got a family and that is just part of who he is," Feige told Good Morning America at the D23 Expo in California.