It’s safe to say Marvel and the MCU have upstaged everyone pretty mercilessly at SDCC2019.
Marvel unveiled Phase 4 plans, and the announcements were filled with outright bombshells. It’s unclear if some of these will be theatrical feature films or television shows on Disney’s forthcoming Disney+, a streaming service that’s guaranteed to rival Netflix.
Among the brightest, most well-received news at Marvel’s Hall H panel this year: Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali will play Blade (gasp), and Benedict Cumberbatch will return as Doctor Strange in Multiverse of Madness, Marvel’s first “scary movie.”
Ragnarok helmer Taika Waititi is returning to direct Thor: Love and Thunder. Chris Hemsworth will return as the God of Thunder, of course. Here’s our favorite bit of this weekend’s Marvel news:
Tessa Thompson‘s Valkyrie will be the MCU’s first openly, explicitly LGBTQ character. She’s bi in the comics, and she will be bi in Love and Thunder. This news carries even more weight because Thompson herself is openly bisexual.
Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie in ‘Thor: Ragnorak’ / Image via Marvel Studios
“The answer is yes,” Feige told i09 of Valkyrie being openly LGBTQ. “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.”
When we last saw Valkyrie in Endgame (now the highest-grossing film of all time), she was made king of Asgard.
“As new king, she needs to find her queen,” Thompson said in Hall H during Marvel’s panel. “That will be her first order of business. She has some ideas. Keep you posted.”
Thompson and friend Brie Larson have vaguely teased that Valkyrie and Captain Marvel will be love interests. That seems unlikely, but still–this is great news. Your move, Star Wars.
In another novel twist, Oscar winner Natalie Portman will appear in Love and Thunder, returning as Jane–who, this time, takes the hammer and becomes Thor.
Sign us up.
