Tessa Thompson who plays Valkyrie (now King of Asgard) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has recently hinted at more representation by Marvel in its Phase Four films.
Excited about it, Thompson, who’s going to be playing the first confirmed LGBTQ character in the MCU said, “we’re really talking about what representation looks like in those spaces.”
Speaking to actor Ramy Youssef in an episode of Variety’s Actors on Actors series, Thompson stated, “The truth is, these movies travel globally in such huge ways, and if you can represent people that are of colour, if you can represent people with disabilities, if you can represent the LGBTQIA community inside of these films, it’s a pretty big deal.”
Thompson’s comment comes after actor Anthony Mackie criticised Marvel on diversity issues. The ongoing talks and discussions on diversity, racism and inclusion have been fueled by George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. Disney owned Marvel is trying to diversify both in front of and behind the camera on its future projects.
As per reports, Ryan Coogler will return to write and direct Black Panther 2; Chloe Zhao is directing The Eternals, starring a multi-racial cast and reportedly feature the series’ first same-sex kiss; Cate Shortland has directed Black Widow; Destin Daniel Cretton is directing Shang-Chi, starring a mostly Asian cast, and Deborah Chow is in talks to direct future projects.
Thompson debuted as Valkyrie in 2017 with Thor: Ragnarok and played the role in the highly successful Avengers: Endgame (2019). She will reprise her character again in Thor: Love and Thunder directed by Taika Waititi. The actor also talked about her character representation in the upcoming film. Thompson mentioned that she is really excited that they are able to continue to push the bounds of her character and that she is able to do Valkyrie.
She further added on the representation, “I think it’s really important for everybody, but for young people especially, to be able to show up to those movies and see projections of themselves. So I’m really excited that we’re able to continue to push the bounds of that and that I’m able to do that with Valkyrie. Because there’s so many cool queer characters in the comic books, and they should have a place on screen.”