There's been a lot of buzz about Thor: Love and Thunder lately.
Jaimie Alexander is returning as Lady Sif after her mysterious absence in Thor:Ragnarok , Christian Bale was officially cast as Love and Thunder's main villain, Gorr the God Butcher, and Natalie Portman even went on TV and hyped up Chris Hemsworth's major gains for the fourth Thor flick.
News broke recently that the cast for Thor: Love and Thunder is so expansive that it will have "an Avengers 5 feel" to it. Fans already know Chris Pratt will be returning as Star-Lord for the film, and Vin Diesel mysteriously showed up in Sydney, Australia where the new Thor movie is being filmed, seemingly confirming Diesel's prior notion that the Guardians of the Galaxy would be involved in the film.
Pratt and Diesel linking up with Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Christian Bale is already exciting enough. Now, Tessa Thompson has reaffirmed her return in Thor 4, hinting that her beloved character Valkyrie isn't even close to being done in the MCU.
NEWS
Tessa Thompson recently interviewed with The Playlist to promote her new movie Sylvie's Love. As with any interview involving an MCU star, though, Thompson's work with Marvel Studios was sure to come up somewhere in the conversation.
When asked if she would be heading to Australia where Thor: Love and Thunder is about to start filming, Thompson promptly confirmed that she is "officially in the film" as Valkyrie, and that she is planning to "travel to Australia at the top of next year" to join the rest of the Love and Thunder crew. Thompson also confirmed that co-star Natalie Portman "has been there for a couple of months" alongside director Taika Waititi, and that "everyone’s working and really excited."
"I hope I can say because I’ve certainly been talking about it today. Yes, I am in the new “Thor” movie; I’m officially in the film. I’m very excited, I travel to Australia at the top of next year, and then I’ll quarantine. Thankfully we can shoot because Australia’s under control; their administration has been able to figure out a way to keep everyone safe so we can safely make the film, and we’ll make it this year. And Natalie Portman, who is also a good friend of mine, has been there for a couple of months, Taika’s there, everyone’s working and really excited."
The Playlist then asked Thompson if she could tease anything about what's in store for Valkyrie in Thor: Love and Thunder , to which th actress responded that Valkyrie is "definitely King of New Asgard when we find her" in this film. More specifically, Thompson added that "she’s a part of an adventure that involved Thor," citing that there is "some cool stuff going on" in Thor 4 .
Thompson also teased that fans will see characters both old and new, saying Thor: Love and Thunder will use "some new characters" as well as "some folks potentially from other pockets of the MCU, and then they have some folks, maybe, that we’ve seen before."
"Yeah. I can tease that she’s definitely King of New Asgard when we find her. And as was the case in the last Thor, I would say that she’s a part of an adventure that involved Thor, in the sense that it’s called “Thor: Love and Thunder.” And I’d say there’s some cool stuff going on. We have some new characters; we have some folks potentially from other pockets of the MCU. And then we have some folks, maybe, that we’ve seen before."
WHAT THIS MEANS
Thor: Love and Thunder just got even more exciting. It was already a given that Tessa Thompson would reprise her role as Valkyrie in the next Thor film, as she's gradually been integrated further into the MCU to a point that she's now "King of Asgard when we find her." That wording is interesting, possibly teasing that Thor will have to return to Earth to seek out Valkyrie's help.
What's even more exciting is Thompson's tease at other Marvel characters being used - specifically MCU characters that you wouldn't normally see in a Thor flick. If Thor: Love and Thunder is going to give fans Avengers -like vibes, it would make sense if the film actually included an Avenger or two, right?
Could fans finally get to see Thor interact with Peter Parker?
Perhaps Thor will have another run-in with Captain Marvel, or maybe he ends up in another cosmic battle and calls on her for help?
Or, it's possible that Gorr the God Butcher isn't specifically an Asgardian god butcher, and maybe he goes to Earth to seek out the soon-to-be-introduced Eternals. After all, Thor is pretty much the only Asgardian "god" left, so Love and Thunder could take a number of unique directions; a classic Kevin Feige move.
Regardless of who else is included in the film, Thor: Love and Thunder is going to be huge, which is undoubtedly what makes it one of the highest anticipated films in Marvel Studios' Phase 4 lineup. With a recently-updated release date of May 6, 2022, Love and Thunder is giving fans an Avengers -level film. What a great way to kick off the summer.
