Last week, Tessa Thompson acknowledged that her ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ character Valkyrie was bisexual, as she has recently been depicted in the comics, but that it wasn’t directly addressed in the movie.
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
YES! Val is Bi in the comics & 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
At least Thompson was knowledgeable about her character’s comic book depiction and used it to inform her performance. But apparently, director Taika Watiti filmed a scene that more directly reflected Valkyrie’s bisexuality.
In referring to Valkyrie’s comic book relationship with archeologist Annabelle Riggs, Thompson said, “There’s this great illustration of them in a kiss,” She convinced Waititi to shoot a scene of a woman coming out of her bedroom, implying their intimacy, but eventually this was cut because “it distracted from the scene’s vital exposition.”
Says Thompson:
“There were things that we talked about that we allowed to exist in the characterization, but maybe not be explicit in the film. There’s a great shot of me falling back from one of my sisters who’s just been slain. In my mind, that was my lover.”
There are other characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe whose sexuality is never addressed, so to do the same in regard to Valkyrie isn’t necessarily a form of censorship. James Gunn, director of the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies hinted that certain characters in his ensembles could potentially be LGBTQ since their romantic interest is never addressed. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and directors Joe and Anthony Russo have expressed a desire to incorporate LGBTQ characters in the MCU. Last year, fans took to Twitter and other social media to encourage Marvel to make Captain America’s relationship with Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier romantic, instead of bromantic.
Waititi has expressed interest in doing another ‘Thor’ movie, so we could be seeing a lot more of Valkyrie, who is also slated to appear in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. Thompson also pressured Feige to create an all-female team-up movie. The more we see of Thompson’s character, the more that will be revealed.
At the very least, Valkyrie isn’t used as a girlfriend for Thor. She appears to serve only as a fellow warrior, which makes her unique. Even ass-kickers like Black Widow and Gamora have been romantically linked to their male counterparts.
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ arrives this weekend. Then we’ll get a better idea of what to expect from Valkyrie in the future.
Source: Rolling Stone