Thor: Love And Thunder's Valkyrie Will Have To Face Her Most Frustrating Foe Yet
For many people, Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie character was one of the most entertaining things about 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok." As a result, it's only fitting that the "Creed" and "Westworld" star is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Taika Waititi's upcoming sequel, "Thor: Love and Thunder," which — according to Waititi — has Valkyrie's most frustrating foe to date.
"It's sort of like a midlife crisis film, really," Waititi explained in an extensive new interview with Entertainment Weekly. "Ragnarok felt a bit like a party," said the Oscar-winning director. "It was quite festive. This one is still fun, and it's got moments of being over the top, but thematically, it's about something a bit deeper than the last film."
According to Waititi, "Thor: Love and Thunder" is ultimately a movie about self-acceptance and finding one's place and purpose in the universe. This applies to Thor and the God of Thunder's supporting cast, including Thompson's Valkyrie, who is now dealing with her biggest challenge yet.
Boredom has become Public Enemy No. 1 for Valkyrie
Once a fierce and glorified fighter, "Thor: Love and Thunder" finds Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie now subjected to measly economic dealings and other tedious political work as part of her newly established role as King of New Asgard. While such a prominent position of power would probably please a variety of Asgardians, Taika Waititi insists that this development has actually made life extremely difficult for Valkyrie.
"She's got to do all the things that they never tell you about when you're supposed to rule the people, which is deal with all of the infrastructure and figure out the economy and have delegates visit from other countries," Waititi told Entertainment Weekly. "So, she's spending a lot of her time not fighting, and all of her new battles have to do with ruling her people."
In April, Marvel Studios debuted the first official trailer for the film. In the trailer, Valkyrie appears bored as she oversees a governmental meeting of some sort. Notably, this trailer also appears to indicate a somewhat more political tone for the fourth "Thor" film. The words "POLITICAL TURMOIL CONTINUES IN NEW ASGARD" are shown in a news chyron during the trailer.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" is currently slated for release on July 8.