Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to get even more diverse. In addition to the franchise’s first film led by an Asian hero (Shang-Chi), first Latina actor in a lead role (Salma Hayek in Eternals), and the first female Thor (Natalie Portman in Thor: Love & Thunder), the franchise is also set to officially make Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie the MCU’s first LGBTQ character.
There were already rumors regarding Valkyrie’s sexuality after the character’s debut in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, but those rumors remained non-canonical. There was even a scene from the film that blatantly established Valkyrie as bisexual, but much to the chagrin of LGBTQ advocates, it ended up on the cutting room floor. But now Valkyrie is free to be herself, as Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has officially declared that the character will reveal her LGBTQ identity in Thor: Love & Thunder.
“The answer is yes,” Feige told io9 when asked whether Valkyrie would have an LGBTQ storyline in the film. “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.” That storyline to which Feige is referring is believed to be Valkyrie’s search for a queen. The character was named King of New Asgard at the end of Avengers: Endgame, and as Thompson herself put it at Comic-Con, a king needs a queen.
Fans will get to witness Valkyrie make history firsthand when Thor: Love & Thunder strikes theaters on Nov. 5, 2021.
