At this weekend’s unveiling of the full Phase 4 lineup for Marvel Studios over the next two years, studio boss Kevin Feige confirmed that in 2021, the world will get the latest sequel in the ‘Thor’ series, titled “Thor: Love and Thunder.” And as part of that tease, one of the film’s stars hinted that Marvel is now going to have an openly LGBTQ superhero.
Speaking to the thousands in attendance at Hall H, actress Tessa Thompson said that part of ‘Love and Thunder’s’ storyline will her character attempting to find a queen to rule alongside her.
“As new king, she needs to find her queen,” Thompson said. “That will be her first order of business. She has some ideas. Keep you posted.”
Of course, it wasn’t explicitly said whether or not this meant that Thompson’s character would be an example of LGBTQ representation for the studio. Speaking to io9 after the reveal, Feige was asked if the story that the actress hinted at is in fact going to be the case.
“The answer is yes,” Feige confirmed. “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.’”
If you’re a fan of Marvel Comics, then you may be aware that it’s canon to have Valkyrie as a queer character. In the comics, she’s definitely representative of the LGBTQ community, albeit a godly version. So, it makes sense that Marvel Studios would use Thompson’s character to help add a bit of inclusivity to the MCU.
READ MORE: ‘Eternals’: Marvel Confirms Fall 2020 Release Date & Reveals Full Cast [Comic-Con]
But Feige’s comment also shows the level of commitment to more inclusivity and representation moving forward for the films. Last year, the MCU welcomed its first Black lead character with “Black Panther.” And earlier this year, the universe saw the debut of “Captain Marvel,” representing the MCU’s first solo film led by a female.
Now, it appears that Marvel is making good on its promise to use its multi-billion-dollar platform to help promote diversity and inclusivity in the films moving forward through Phase 4 and beyond. When asked by Collider if we’ll see some of that representation in ‘Eternals,’ which has long been rumored to have one of its leads being LGBTQ, Feige simply responded, “Yes.”
We’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out when “Thor: Love and Thunder” arrives in theaters on November 5, 2021, and ‘Eternals’ debuts a year sooner on November 6, 2020.
Tessa Thompson on Valkyrie: “First of all, as king, she needs to find her queen.” #MarvelSDCC pic.twitter.com/XR1I2wsUNR
— Ryan Gajewski (@_RyanGajewski) July 21, 2019
