Thor: Love and Thunder will feature the return of Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, an important character who first made her MCU debut in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. After serving as a solid ally of the God of Thunder against Hela, the MCU hero made a notable comeback in Avengers: Endgame to help Earth's Mightiest Heroes defeat Thanos. By the end of the movie, Thor transferred his leadership role to Valkryie, thus leading to the hero's reign as the new King of New Asgard.
Thor 4 is expected to explore Valkyrie's form of leadership in New Asgard, but the sequel's trailers have already teased that the new King is not pleased with the boring meetings with the government. However, this boredom is set to be cured since Valkryie will aid Thor and Mighty Thor in the battle against Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher.
While Valkyrie's future after Thor 4 is still unknown, new comments from the Marvel actress may fuel hope for a potential solo project down the line.
Tessa Thompson Responds to Valkyrie Spin-Off Hopes
In several interviews, Valkyrie actress Tessa Thompson addressed the likelihood of seeing a potential spin-off series for her MCU hero on Disney+.
During a sit-down with Extra, Thompson admitted that she is unsure if a spin-off will ever be made for her character. However, the Marvel actress pointed out that she would be open to such an opportunity:
Extra: “Are we gonna see a Valkyrie spin-off maybe? Get your own deal going? What do you think?”
Thompson: “(laughs) I don’t know.”
Extra: “Would that be something you’re open to though?”
Thompson: “’I love playing the character so any chance I get to play her in any form, I’m happy to.”
The Thor: Love and Thunder actress also spoke with Cinepop, via Screen Rant, to talk about which MCU characters she would like to see Valkyrie fight alongside in a potential solo project. Thompson revealed that Mark Ruffalo's Hulk and "anyone from Wakanda" would be ideal allies:
“Well I really miss Mark Ruffalo and I really miss Banner and Hulk so I think he’d be my number one pick. And then really anyone from Wakanda. I would love to be able to fight alongside any of the incredible Wakandans, particularly all the incredible female warriors. I think Valkyrie would really relate to them. In our film we have Toothngasher and Toothgrinder, two new intergalactic goats. And they would have to be with me and of course Miek would have to be with me. Now I think the Wakandans are the only great fighters in this bunch, but I think we would do okay.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Fandom, Thompson openly shared that she would "love to see a Valkyrie spinoff" while also saying that "a Korg spinoff would be good as well."
In a separate interview with Extra, the MCU actress described how it "means everything" to her that Valkyrie and Mighty Thor are inspiring "many young women." Thompson also recalled a moment during the film's premiere when young boys approached her and told her that they are huge fans of the character as well:
“It means everything to me. I mean, it was so incredible to see so many young women at the premiere last night dressed like Natalie [Portman]’s character dressed like mine, but also it was really incredible to get to talk to young boys and them come up and say that they’re a huge fan of the character too."
Thompson continued by discussing the importance of leaning toward a non-gendered approach when it comes to representation:
"I think sometimes we get in this idea of like it’s important obviously to have representation, but there’s this real gendered idea. And the truth is I think young boys should be able to look at Natalie and say like, ‘She’s so cool, she’s so strong.’ That we should be able to relate to characters not just because of their gender expression but because of who they are essentially as people and that feels exciting to me.”
The Valkyrie actress also explained the difference between filming on-location and inside a built set:
Extra: "So as an actor, you're working primarily in front of, what? Like a green screen when you're doing this?"
Thompson: “Sometimes, but actually we work a lot in practical worlds, so you work a lot on-location and also they build out these incredible sets. So you know, where some of our scenes take place is sort of like the town hall is in Asgard and also the beautiful set that you’ll see of New Asgard. They built that set into a beautiful, actually-outdoor space in Australia and it felt… it was so cool. You could go in all the places and open drawers and things really existed. I mean, it felt like a little seaside town in Norway that you would want to spend time in and that was the amazing work of all of our set builders that have been doing it for months and months and months. So I think there is an idea sometimes with these films that everything is on a green screen, right and the truth is, that’s not… I mean, there’s incredible technicians that are building the world… digitally… but there’s incredible craftsmen and women that are building the practical world that we get to play on and that’s such a dream.”
Will Valkyrie Receive a Solo Disney+ Spin-Off?
Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie has a rich backstory that has yet to be thoroughly explored, and a potential solo project could serve as a good starting point to tackle the character's history. However, given the expansive slate of MCU in the coming years, it is hard to pinpoint where exactly a solo Valkryie spin-off fits in the grand scheme of things.
Despite that, a possible spin-off series featuring New Asgard could be the answer to telling more stories about Valkyrie. Similar to the Asgardian warrior, the iconic MCU location also has unexplored history, and investigating them could be an interesting launchpad.
The advantage of placing New Asgard as the main focus could mean that the stories of Valkyrie and the likes of Korg and Miek will continue while also expanding the mythology of the location. This could equally offer an opportunity for characters like Jaimie Alexander's Lady Sif to be pushed to the forefront.
A New Asgard-centric series could also pave the way for familiar MCU cameos like Bruce Banner, Shuri, and even the Guardians of the Galaxy to show up, potentially helping the community against different threats or just simply lending a helping hand in a complicated situation.
Meanwhile, Thompson's comments about representation and achieving it through her character is a promising sight, especially after her previous promise that the MCU's Phase 4 will push for such on-screen depictions.
Thor: Love and Thunder is set to premiere in theaters on Friday, July 8.
