Marvel StudiosThe Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to get its first ever LGBTQ+ hero, the studio confirmed yesterday (July 20).
After years of waiting, Marvel fans will finally start to see LGBTQ+ representation across the MCU in the coming years, starting with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) in the upcoming Thor movie.
The storyline will unfold in Thor: Love and Thunder, with Thompson revealing her character will seek out a queen to rule alongside her in New Asgard.
We last saw Valkyrie in Avengers: Endgame, when Thor made the decision to leave with the Guardians of the Galaxy after defeating Thanos and bringing the fallen Avengers back to life.
Just before he left though, the King of the Norse Gods handed over leadership to Valkyrie, telling her:
It’s time to be who I am rather than who I’m supposed to be. But you — you’re a leader. That’s who you are.
Now, Thompson has revealed her character arc will involve the new leader seeking out a queen to rule alongside her in her new role.
Marvel StudiosSpeaking at Marvel Studio’s San Diego Comic-Con panel, Thompson – alongside Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and director Taika Waititi – officially announced Thor: Love and Thunder.
Not wanting to stop there though, Thompson built further excitement in discussing her character, as per io9:
As new king, she needs to find her queen. That will be her first order of business. She has some ideas. Keep you posted.
This will make Valkyrie the first openly LGBTQ+ superhero within the MCU, a huge step in the right direction for the studio.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige later confirmed this news, telling io9 when asked about Valkyrie’s LGBTQ+ storyline: ‘The answer is yes. How that impacts the story remains to be seen with that level of representation you’ll see across our films, not in just Thor 4.’
For many fans of Valkyrie, this news is a long time coming, with many pointing to the fact that Thompson has been playing the character as bisexual for a while now.
In an earlier interview with Variety, Thompson confirmed that although her intention was to portray Valkyrie as interested in women and men, this usually gets overlooked in the films.
The actor explained:
In the canon, [Valkyrie] is bisexual. You see her with women and men, so that was my intention in playing her.
Obviously, at the forefront of most of these stories is not typically their romantic life. They have big stakes, like saving the world, so that tends to sort of trump.
Marvel StudiosFans have praised the move, while also pointing out other important changes rolling out in phase four – including a female Thor, a diverse Eternals cast – including the ‘first deaf hero in the MCU’ – and a black Captain America.
Incredible. Keep up the good work, guys.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).