Tessa Thompson reveals focus on Valkyrie’s sexuality was ‘big topic’ for Thor: Love and Thunder
Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie has always had an ambiguous sexuality in the Marvel cinematic universe, though the actress has stated in the past that due to the Asgardian warrior being bisexual in the comics, she was “faithful to that depiction” in the Thor: Ragnarok film.
Word-of-mouth doesn’t quite feel like representation, however, and has often been used by other creatives as a way to seem like they are making the effort to be inclusive. In reality, it adds very little and puts the effort on the shoulders of the marginalized groups that are looking for that representation in the first place, while also allowing heternormative standards and ideals to still be upheld.
Yet this time around it looks as though Valkyrie and her sexuality will be a big topic in Thor: Love and Thunder.
According to a new interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Thompson (who is bisexual in real life) explains that Valkyrie’s sexuality was a major point of discussion with co-writer and director Taika Waititi.
“We talked about it a lot, it was a big topic of conversation,” Thompson tells Yahoo. “Because I think rightfully there’s this real want in audiences to see characters be very clearly queer or LGBTQIA inside these spaces. And I think it’s hugely important to have representation.”
Despite her acknowledgement of the importance of representation, Thompson went on to imply that Valkyrie isn’t defined by her sexuality and that hanging on that narrative completely would be “diminishing the humanity of the character, because you don’t allow them to be anything else.”
Yahoo Entertainment also revealed that the movie doesn’t look like it’ll be giving fans the chance to delve deeper into Valkyrie’s love life, simply because there wasn’t enough room or time to do so. What this means for Valkyrie and the portrayal of her sexuality in Thor: Love and Thunder remains to be seen, but considering Natalie Portman’s return, we doubt we’ll be getting any Mighty Thor/Valkyrie love, sorry shippers.
Thor: Love and Thunder blasts onto the big screen on Friday, July 8.
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