Tessa Thompson explains that she loves that Valkyrie is called the King of Asgard in Thor: Love and Thunder. Thompson will make her return as Valkyrie in Thor: Love and Thunder. This Thor sequel is the follow-up to 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, in which Thompson made her debut as Valkyrie. Ragnarok director Taika Waititi returns to direct Thor: Love and Thunder with a cast that includes Thompson, Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, and the return of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster / Mighty Thor.
There is a lot of buzz about Love and Thunder, including Portman’s Mighty Thor, the introduction of the goat chariot, and whether this sequel will lay the groundwork for future Thor films. The return of Thompson’s Valkyrie has been greatly hyped, including the inclusion of an LGBTQ romance for Valkyrie. Recently, Valkyrie’s title of “King” of Asgard in Love and Thunder has been the source of confusion, with many wondering why she does not don a more feminine marker of royalty. Thompson recently explained that Valkyrie is "King" because Thor was originally supposed to be king, and then he gave Valkyrie the job, and they did not change the title because the role was supposed to be a “king.”
It turns out that Thompson adores the moniker, as she explains in a recent interview with Screen Rant. In Thompson’s retelling, she witnessed a lot of people on the internet confused about the “king” title, saying things like “But she's a woman! in response. Thompson goes on to re-explain that Valkyrie is King of Asgard simply because that was already the title for the position that Thor forgoes in favor of his good friend. Thompson thinks this choice is “cool,” noting that gender is kind of a construct anyway.” Check out Thompson’s full statement below:
"You know, it feels great. I'm really into it. It's funny, because I saw some stuff on the internet of people being very confused. They're like, "King? But she's a woman!" Some people were [kerfuffled].
But it really just had to do with the fact that Thor would have been king. That would have been what he would have taken over [as], and then he didn't want to do the job. Essentially couldn't do the job. He said, "Do this job as a friend," and then that's the title. So, she's still a woman, but she just happens to be king. And I really liked that, because gender is kind of a construct anyway. I think it's cool.
It's fun to be king! Valkyrie really loves being king, mostly, but she just hates paperwork and doesn't like meetings. I think, over the course of the film, she's gonna have to figure out what kind of a king she wants to be. And the truth is, that actually has less to do with the admin work and has more to do with what you impart to your people in the spirit of Asgard. And that she understands that in her bones; she spent thousands of years protecting Asgard as a warrior. It's incredible for her to get to relax and put on a three piece suit and hang out with her people."
While Valkyrie may not be the most enthusiastic king as she’s flooded with paperwork, it nonetheless seems like Thompson is enthusiastic about her character’s role as King of Asgard. As one of the few confirmed LGBTQ+ characters within the MCU, Valkyrie’s status as King is a further way in which the character is not subscribing to the more conventional straight, conventionally feminine lead character that has been historically dominant within the MCU canon. Thompson herself acknowledges the construct of gender within her statement, implying that Valkyrie’s King status is dismantling the conventional societal construct of gender.
Between being a confirmed LGBTQ+ character and defying gender stereotypes through her label as King of Asgard, Valkyrie has the potential to be a phenomenal and standout character in Thor: Love and Thunder. Already, she is showing great promise for going against the archetype for a stereotypical female lead in a franchise film. It will be immensely exciting to see how this manifests in Thor: Love and Thunder, which also stars another woman, Portman’s Mighty Thor, as a central hero in the film. The adventures of Thompson’s King of Asgard will soon be revealed as Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters in just a few short weeks.
