After years of off-screen confirmations, Marvel has finally announced that Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie will be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first LGBTQ superhero.
After much past teasing that the alcoholic Asgardian is bisexual, Marvel boss Kevin Feige recently revealed that Thompson’s character – now Asgard’s new ruler – will be seeking a queen during the events of Thor 4 AKA Thor: Love and Thunder.
Confirming the news during the many many unveilings at Marvel Studios’ San Diego Comic-Con panel, Thompson said (via i09): “As a new king, she needs to find her queen. That will be her first order of business. She has some ideas.”
Feige added: “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.”
Although this is the first time we’ll see Valkyrie reveal her sexuality on screen, Thompson has previously stated that the character is bisexual. In fact, it was a point almost heavily hinted at in Thor: Ragnarok – where Valkyrie made her first appearance. The character was filmed fondly glancing at a woman walking out of her bedroom, but this moment was cut as it distracted from the scene’s vital exposition, according to Thompson.
Thompson previously addressed her own sexuality, saying she is attracted to men and also to women, but prefers not to be labelled as bisexual.
Alongside news of Valkyrie’s sexuality, Marvel also announced Natalie Portman as a female Thor, Angelina Jolie’s casting in The Eternals and a slew of upcoming superhero films. You can see all the announcements here.
