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Thor: Love and Thunder star Tessa Thompson is excited to be bringing LGBTQ+ representation to the MCU, and says director Taika Waititi is as well.
Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie is the first openly LGBTQ+ character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and both she and Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi are excited about where this will take her.
Valkyrie’s MCU debut was in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok. A flashback of her history on Asgard showed her embracing a fellow female soldier, who was later confirmed to be her lover. “It’s totally exciting,” said Thompson in an interview with The Wrap. “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!”
Thompson elaborated on the difficulties in portraying a same-sex romance for Valkyrie onscreen. “It’s hard because Taika and I would’ve even liked to go further, but in the context of the movies, there’s only so much we can do,” she said, pointing out the limits of time and genre in the superhero action franchise. “Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of time invested in love stories in Marvel movies in general.”
However, it appears that the title Love and Thunder will make good on its implications. “I think that will be a little different on the new Thor, which is exciting,” said Thompson. “And getting to play a character that historically is not written for somebody that looks like me, all of that felt exciting.”
In 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, Valkyrie not only returned and fought alongside the Avengers against Thanos, but gained the title of King of New Asgard when Thor absconded. Love and Thunder is said to focus on Jane Foster, who will follow in her comic book counterpart’s footsteps and become the Mighty Thor. With the status quo shifting in several directions, Valkyrie’s future isn’t clear, but Thompson has been quoted as saying that she’ll be looking for her queen. She’s also be showing off some new powers, which Thompson describes as “erotic.”
The fourth film in the MCU’s Thor series and the second to be directed by Waititi, Love and Thunder is slated for release on Friday, July 8. Chris Hemsworth, Thompson, Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander, Waititi and Jeff Goldblum will all be returning to reprise their roles as Thor, Valkyrie, Jane, Sif, Korg and the Grandmaster, respectively. Additionally, Christian Bale will make his MCU debut as the film’s villain, Gorr the God Butcher.
Love and Thunder is also expected to feature several characters from the Guardians of the Galaxy series, including Star-Lord, Drax, Groot, Nebula, Mantis and Kraglin.
Source: The Wrap
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