The Marvel Cinematic Universe is finally entering its long-awaited Phase 4 film roll out, starting with Black Widow later this year. But after 23 films, representation and diversity is still sparse throughout the Marvel movies. Thor: Ragnarok actress Tessa Thompson believes that this is all about to change.
Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth film in the Thor series, was announced during the Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic-Con last year, along with the news that stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Thompson would be reprising their roles. During the panel Thompson teased that her character Valkyrie, who is a canon bisexual character in the comics, would be given an LGBT storyline in the upcoming film.
In an interview with Variety, Thompson commented on her hopes for the MCU's Phase 4 slate, saying "I think in this next phase of Marvel, we're really talking about what representation looks like in those spaces. Because the truth is these movies travel globally in such huge ways and if you can represent people that are of color, if you can represent people with disabilities, if you can represent the LGBTQIA community inside of these films, it's a pretty big deal." She added that she was particularly excited to push the boundaries with Valkyrie because "there's so many cool queer characters in the comic books and they should have a place on-screen."
Prior to Phase 4 the first canon LGBT character in a Marvel film was played by director Anthony Russo in Avengers: Endgame, but the character was only seen in one scene. The studio had an absolute hit on their hands with Black Panther which featured a cast made up entirely of people of color and made over $1 billion at the box office, effectively proving that audiences are hungry for diversity.
It seems Marvel Studios listened and have more plans in the works to diversify their films. The Eternals is set to star an openly gay character in a lead role and the currently filming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will bring the first Asian superhero to the screen. Many of the leading actresses have also expressed their desires for an all-female led Marvel superhero film to be put into development.
Thor: Love and Thunder is set to release on February 11, 2022.
Source: Variety