Joe Locke laughs off negativity surrounding his new Marvel role

Joe Locke is brushing off any negativity surrounding his new role within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Heartstopper star is one of the new additions to the critically acclaimed WandaVision spinoff Agatha All Along, which centers on Kathryn Hahn’s character from the hit Disney+ series.

In a new interview with Variety, the Emmy-nominated actor addressed the backlash against his character on the show — including from the LGBTQ+ community — because his openly queer character on the show plays on stereotypes.

““It really annoyed me because I thought, ‘You can’t ask for authentic casting and then be upset when you have a camp character,’” he admitted.

Joe turned his attention to the broader criticism from Marvel’s existing fanbase, continuing, “I’m fully aware that the Marvel fandom is a lot less nice than the ‘Heartstopper’ fandom. There are going to be a lot of people who hate everything about the character and everything I’ve done with it, and I just have to be okay with that.”

“Marvel fans are very open with their opinions,” he added. “But they’re not in a Marvel show. So I’m doing the only thing they really want to do. Sorry!”

Agatha All Along will be available on Disney+ from September, a month before the highly anticipated release of Heartstopper season 3 on Netflix.

There has been a lot of fuss about Heartstopper moving into a more adult era with its new series of episodes. Joe told Variety: “The second half of the season is about sex.”

“Kit and I feel very comfortable with each other, but it remains fragile,” he said.

Agatha All Along premieres on September 18, while Heartstopper returns on October 3