Tessa Thompson as King Valkyrie
In Thor: Love and Thunder Thompson is king of New Asgard.
Brave, strong, competent, and inarguably badass, the warrior-turned-gladiator-gatherer played by Thompson returns as King Valkyrie in Thor: Love and Thunder.
The combined events of 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok and 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War left the people of Asgard without a home. Those who survived made a new home called New Asgard. While technically Thor is King of his people, it’s Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie who takes on the leadership role after Thor retreats into a drunken haze.
Why is Valkyrie named “King” rather than “Queen?” Because gender-coding renders “King” a more powerful word than “Queen.”
Taika Waititi has delivered another excellent Thor and Valkyrie story. The film finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon an exciting adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.
In Thor: Love and Thunder Thompson is king of New Asgard. According to Thompson, “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 do that with Valkyrie. Because there’s so many cool queer characters in the comic books, and they should have a place on screen.”
The film, which opened in July, was directed by Taika Waititi and co-written by Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson.
