Comic-Con: Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie Will Be MCU's First LGBTQ Hero

Comic-Con: Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie Will Be MCU’s First LGBTQ Hero

When Thor: Love and Thunder was officially announced last night by Marvel Studios, the big takeaway from fans was that Natalie Portman would be returning to the franchise, and she will wield the hammer this time. This of course is what the “Thunder” part of that subtitle no doubt refers, but how about the “Love?” Another major development was also announced with Tessa Thompson confirming that her character Valkyrie will in fact be the MCU’s first openly LGBTQ hero on the big screen, something the actress had previously teased about how she played the role in Thor: Ragnarok but which was not addressed in the final cut.

“As new king, she needs to find her queen,” Thompson said,on stage, referencing the events of Avengers: Endgame. “That will be her first order of business. She has some ideas. Keep you posted.”

io9 caught up with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to get confirmation on the matter that Thompson teased, being asked point blank if the film will explore that territory with the character in the new movie.

“The answer is yes,” Feige said. “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.”

Marvel Studios previously came under fire for their “first gay character on screen” in Avengers: Endgame, a role played by straight director Joe Russo. By the time Thor: Love and Thunder reaches theaters, it will have taken Marvel Studios 28 feature films to have this level of representation on screen in one of their superheroes.

Chris Hemsworth will return for ht feature film as well with director Taika Waititi set to step behind the camera.

Thor: Love and Thunder will debut in theaters November 5, 2021.

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