Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie Will Be Marvel's First LGBTQ Superhero: 'She Needs to Find Her Queen'

Ale Russian
Updated

Now that Tessa Thompson‘s Valkyrie has taken over as king of Asgard from Chris Hemsworth‘s Thor, there’s only one thing left to do: find a wife.

At least that’s what Thompson told the crowd at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend, to their very loud delight.

“First of all, as new King [of Asgard], she needs to find her queen, so that will be her first order of business. She has some ideas. Keep you posted,” Thompson said as the packed Hall H crowd screamed their approval.

Marvel president Kevin Feige later confirmed Thompson’s statement, making Valkyrie the first openly LGBTQ superhero in Marvel Cinematic Universe history.

“The answer is yes,” Feige told io9 of Valkyrie having an LGBTQ storyline. “How that impacts the story remains to be seen with that level of representation you’ll see across our films, not in just Thor 4.”

RELATED: Natalie Portman to Star as Female Thor, Scarlett Johansson Confirms Standalone Black Widow Film

A video from a fan captured the moment Thompson made the announcement during Marvel’s introduction of phase 4. The panel confirmed Hemsworth and Thompson will return for the fourth installment in the Thor franchise, titled Thor: Love and Thunder. Also returning is Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, while Natalie Portman will make her first appearance in the franchise since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World as the first female Thor.

Valkyrie inherited the king title from Thor in Avengers: Endgame after the struggling God of Thunder realized he wanted to find himself outside of his duty. The fourth Thor film will likely deal with Valkyrie’s new reign and Portman’s role as the first female Thor.

“Feels pretty good. I’ve always had a little hammer envy,” Portman joked during the panel of her new title.

Avengers: Endgame was a huge hit for Marvel, and Feige announced at the panel that it had officially passed James Cameron’s 2009 hit Avatar as the highest grossing film of all time.

Endgame has made over $854 million domestically and $1.9 billion worldwide, bringing its total to over $2.790 billion. Avatar finished its theater run with $2.789 billion.