Marvel Comics is stacked with characters from the LGBTQ+ community and for many years, queer fans have been looking for their big-screen depictions to reflect the identities and sexualities apart from the heteronormative. There’s finally been some strides in the past year, but in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, writer/director Taika Waititi almost teased Valkyrie’s queerness way before Loki and Eternals moments of representation, but the scene was cut. As Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters, the filmmaker expressed some regret over how he handled it.
As previously revealed, Ragnarok almost featured a scene of a woman walking out of Valkyrie’s bedroom but the scene never made the actual movie. While speaking to the scene, Taika Waititi shared why it was left out of the 2017 blockbuster:
We tested that scene and people were just so confused. I think we were just being so subtle about it that most audiences were like, ‘Who was that? Was that a flatmate?’ People didn’t connect the dots – or not enough did. So it was more confusing for audiences. We should have just had her come out and kiss her and then leave.
As Waititi reflected with iNews, the scene being cut came down to test audiences not connecting the dots of the scene, likely because it was too vague a moment. If it had made the movie, the LGBTQ+ community may not have been satisfied with such a light nudge at the character’s sexuality, who is also bisexual in Marvel Comics. As he suggested, he should have had Tessa Thompson’s character just “kiss” the other female character and make it more obvious.
MINOR THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER SPOILERS AHEAD.
In Thor: Love and Thunder, the sexuality of Tessa Thompson’s character is finally made known through a casual conversation she has with Taika Waititi’s Korg. It is revealed she lost a love with a female character whilst we also learn that Korg seeks love in a male partner as well. The scene isn’t exactly what fans may have been hoping for, especially given Thompson told fans the King of Asgard would need to “find her queen” when Love and Thunder was announced at Comic-Con in 2019. It seemingly teased a full on love story for the character.
More recently Tessa Thompson explained that her and Taika Waititi “would’ve liked to go even further” in terms of exploring Valkyrie’s sexuality, but there perhaps wasn’t enough time in the film to explore another romantic plot. Waititi sounds totally on board to keep telling inclusive stories on the big screen, saying this:
We need to keep bringing the subject up. It’s gonna be nice when one day we don’t have to say: Oh, tell me about that scene where those two men held hands!
Waititi’s Thor movies are certainly part of the slow strides within Hollywood to include more LGBTQ+ characters in major films. Last year, Loki acknowledged Tom Hiddleston’s character as bisexual and the first same-sex kiss in a Marvel movie occurred in Eternals. Perhaps more of Valkyrie’s love life will be explored in an upcoming Marvel movie!
