The first batch of full reviews for Thor: Ragnarok had great things to say about Tessa Thompson’s performance as Valkyrie, but the latest revelation about the character is creating even more excitement. She’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first big-screen LGBTQ superhero! But don’t expect the November 3 release to acknowledge it.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige promised in 2015 that we’d see the MCU’s first LGBTQ superhero within the next decade. Thompson confirmed that when she tweeted that her superhero would be bisexual in a response to a fan who referred to the comic book character as lesbian:
She's bi. And yes, she cares very little about what men think of her. What a joy to play! https://t.co/d0LZKTHCfL
"” Tessa Thompson (@TessaThompson_x) October 21, 2017
Last year, Gal Gadot suggested that Wonder Woman "can be bisexual", and added that it wouldn’t be acknowledged her first solo movie. Thompson also mentioned that her character's sexuality wouldn't be "explicitly addressed" in the Norse God of Thunder's third solo outing. Here's the tweet for you!
YES! Val is Bi in the comics, and I was faithful to that in her depiction. But her sexuality isn't explicitly addressed in Thor: Ragnarok. https://t.co/hmb5lYN5to
"” Tessa Thompson (@TessaThompson_x) October 23, 2017
Tessa Thompson says Taika Waititi pitched Valkyrie as Marvel’s Han Solo! (Photo Credit – Lucasfilm)
In a recent interview with The Independent, Tessa Thompson revealed that Taika Waititi pitched Valkyrie as being similar to the Star Wars franchise’s Han Solo:
It was quite collaborative, but [Taika Waititi] and I got on from the minute we met each other. He pitched Valkyrie as sort of the Han Solo of the movie, so I sort of knew the space that she wanted to occupy, and we wanted to subvert any sort of cliches in our portrayal of her. I say “ours” because he was really integral to that.
