Tessa Thompson Wanted Bigger Valkyrie LGBTQ Story in Thor: Ragnarok

Actor Tessa Thompson wanted Valkyrie’s sexuality to be more present in her Thor: Ragnarok storyline. Thompson is well-known for movies like Creed, and was most recently seen in Rebecca Hall’s Passing on Netflix. The actress was first introduced into the MCU as Valkyrie back in 2017, with the release of Thor: Ragnarok. Thompson is set to return later this year in the highly anticipated Thor: Love and Thunder, directed by Taika Waititi, who also helmed Ragnarok.

There have been many queer characters seen throughout Marvel comic history, including Valkyrie. The character was created in the 1970s but wasn’t confirmed to be bisexual until she appeared in Fearless Defenders in 2013. Thompson’s portrayal of Valkyrie technically brought the first openly queer character into the MCU in 2017, although her sexuality is not addressed in the movie. It was revealed later that there was a Thor: Ragnarok scene filmed that would have explicitly referenced Valkyrie’s sexuality, however, it was cut from the final product to put more focus on the main plot. Marvel boss Kevin Feige also confirmed that Valkyrie is the MCU’s first LGBTQ+ hero back in 2019.

In an interview for The Wrap, Thompson expressed that she and Waititi would have loved to explore more of Valkyrie’s bisexuality in Thor: Ragnarok. Unfortunately, the actor said that there isn’t much time spent focusing on romantic plot lines for Marvel movies, making it difficult to explore Valkyrie’s sexuality, much to her disappointment. However, Thompson suggests that Thor: Love and Thunder might be “a little different” in that regard, alluding to a potential romance for Valkyrie. Thompson makes it clear in her interview that LGBTQ+ representation still has a long way to go, and suggests that fans look to the comics for more queer stories. Read Thompson’s full comments below:

“It’s totally exciting. We talk so much about representation and obviously, in terms of the LGBTQIA community, there’s still so much work to be done. But if you look at the comics in the canon, there are so many queer characters! It’s hard because Taika [Waititi] and I would’ve even liked to go further, but in the context of the movies, there’s only so much we can do.”

The MCU has largely lacked LGBTQ+ representation in most of its projects. However, in the last few years, audiences have seen a surge in LGBTQ+ characters appearing in the franchise. Fans were excited to finally see Loki’s bisexuality and genderfluid identity onscreen, but the blink-and-miss-it confirmation was at the same time widely criticized by viewers and industry professionals. Most recently, Marvel added Eternals to its list of firsts, as Phastos became the MCU’s first gay superhero, who was shown onscreen as happily married with a husband and young son.

Marvel is not known for its diversity, with there being almost 10 years of MCU movies before the first queer character was seen Thor: Ragnarok. However, the franchise continues to add canonically LGBTQ+ characters from the comics to their movies and TV shows, like many of the Young Avengers characters that have been popping up in the MCU. While Marvel’s LGBTQ+ character’s sexualities are rarely discussed, audiences are seeing a change in how the studio approaches these storylines. Given Feige’s recent statements promising that Phastos’ Eternals character was “just the start” of increased representation in the MCU, viewers may see increased diversity in the future, potentially starting with Valkyrie’s very own love story in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Source: The Wrap

About The Author