Victoria Alonso, President, Physical and Post Production, Visual Effects, and Animation Production at Marvel Studios, and the executive producer ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, revealed that as a Latina hero who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it was incredibly personal to her to make sure the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities are represented by this character.
“This character was important to me for many personal reasons, but also because it was important that we make an effort to have every kid in this world represented in our universe, and she represents both the LGBTQ+ and Latinx community,” said Alonso in an interview conducted byChristine Dinh for Marvel.com.
“[America] is a young Latina who is part of the LGBTQ+ community and has great power. Children want to see themselves represented,” Alonso stated. “There is this level of identity that comes to be an important moment in an adolescent’s life – to see themselves; to not be invisible.”
Xochitl Gomez Embodies America
In addition to sharing reasons that the character is personally important to her, the article covered the casting of Xochitl Gomez as America, who is a younger incarnation of the character inMultiverse of Madnessthan she is in any of her Marvel Comics appearances.
“We were thrilled to have found someone who could embody the character with a fresh look at who America Chavez could be, and who could stand up in performance alongside the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, and Elizabeth Olsen,” Alonso told Marvel.com, referring to the fact that America’s introduction will see her standing alongside characters like former Sorcerer Supreme Stephen Strange, current Sorcerer Supreme Wong, and the Mistress of Chaos Magic herself, Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch.
America is frequently paired with the best Hawkeye, Kate Bishop, in the comics. She is played by Hailee Steinfeld in the MCU, who made her debut as the character in 2021’sHawkeyeon Disney+. Theheroes have appeared simultaneously on teams like the Young Avengersand the recentWest Coast Avengersrun from Marvel Comics in 2018 by 1 by Kelly Thompson, Stefano Caselli, Tríona Farrell, Joe Caramagna, and Nolan Woodard.
Fans of America’s appearances in the panels of Marvel Comics needn’t fear: it seems as though America’s defiant personality will shine through in Gomez’s interpretation of the character, with Alonso citing the young actress’s attitude as one of the reasons she was cast in the role. “With Xochitl, there was a cheekiness about her,” Alonso said. “There was a spark in her eye. We saw the defiance of America Chavez in her.”
Alonso concluded by stating how exciting she was to see the hero official join the franchise when the secondDoctor Strangefilm is released on Friday, May 6th, 2022, saying, “I’m so happy she is part of the MCU family, and I know she will be a great addition.”
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessis directed by Sam Raimi, who is making his triumphant return to the Marvel Multiverse alongside composer Danny Elfman, who worked with Raimi on the first two and a half movies in the Tobey MaguireSpider-Mantrilogy.
