That Should Have Been Gay: The Most Homoerotic Scenes on Film in the Last Decade

How often do you leave the theater (back when movie theaters were a thing we did) or watch the credits roll at the end of a film and think, “That was really great! Especially that one incredibly homoerotic scene between those two same-sex actors who absolutely would have sealed the deal if they were a man and a woman!” You know what I’m talking about. You’ll find these homoerotic scenes in so many films.

We’re talking about characters with chemistry so uncontainable that the sheer force of compulsory heteronormativity sends you into a rage. “That should have been gay!” you shout at the sky, hoping someday, somewhere, a Hollywood executive will finally hear you.

We know the feeling.

Here are some of the most homoerotic scenes captured on film in the last decade:

1. That scene with the jacket in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Not only did we finally get some POC in the franchise, but this first installment of the last Star Wars trilogy set the foundations for a beautiful gay romance between Poe (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega). In one scene in particular, after they’ve been separated and then reunited, Poe realizes that Finn is wearing his jacket.

“That’s my jacket,” Poe says.

“Oh,” Finn says.

“No, no, no, no. Keep it. It suits you. You’re a good man, Finn.”

The sexual tension between the two men in this scene — accented by Oscar Isaac’s lip bite — is undeniable. And, it turns out, the actors were also on board. “There was romance — at least I was playing romance. In the cockpit, there was a very deep romance happening,” said Oscar Isaac in 2015.

Sadly, the Disney overlords didn’t see it fit to pursue this relationship, so the duo’s homoerotic scenes were for naught.

2. That beach divorce scene in X-Men: First Class (2011)

Essentially a story about two dudes finding one another, falling in love and finding themselves in the process, X-Men: First Class has all the makings of a true romance without the actual acknowledgement of the romance. But the scene at the end of the film — Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto, played by Michael Fassbender) holding the wounded body of his best friend and confidant Charles Xavier (Professor X, played by James McAvoy) in his arms, on the beach, as missiles fly all around them.

It is part-war movie, and it would undoubtedly be part-romance if either Fassbender or McAvoy were women.

3. Uh, everything about Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

The movie is essentially called Steve Rogers: Bucky Barnes. Come on.

Every single aspect about this film reeks of homoeroticism, beginning with Steve Rogers’ face breaking through 90 years of HYDRA brainwashing and ending with Bucky Barnes pulling his old friend out of the ocean, knowing he could never truly kill him.

Please also note the sequel, which features even more homoerotic scenes, called Captain America: I Will Do Anything to Protect Bucky Barnes, Including Fighting All the Avengers, which is also referred to as Captain America: Civil War.

4. The hand-holding in Frozen 2 (2019)

Elsa became a queer icon shortly after the release of Frozen, and viewers were thrilled to speculate on the existence of a lesbian relationship in the follow-up to the film. Of course, there’s no explicit, canonical confirmation that Elsa is either a lesbian or in a relationship with another woman, but the scenes of her and a newcomer to the franchise had us all raising our eyebrows.

If you do a Google search of Frozen 2, the first question that pops up is: “Who is Elsa’s girlfriend in Frozen 2?” (Her name is Honeymaren, by the way.)

5. That “long friendship” moment in Tenet (2020)

Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated Tenet is a complex labyrinth of time, espionage and science that may or may not be accurate. That’s all to say … we don’t exactly know what it’s about, but we do know the relationship between the Protagonist (John David Washington) and Neil (Robert Pattinson) is homoerotic enough to pull the characters through time.

The plot, essentially, is about a very long friendship, meeting at the beginning and the ending — which is revealed to us when there’s about 10 minutes left of the movie. It is by far the most interesting aspect of the film.

What are your top “should have been gay” moments and favorite homoerotic scenes of the last decade?