The MCU has been slowly introducing more and more LGBTQ+ characters in the past few years—Valkyrie is a bisexual hero who debuted in Ragnarok, followed by the lover of "princes and princesses" Loki and then Eternals' openly gay Phastos. But Valkyrie actor Tessa Thompson pushed for more representation in Thor: Love and Thunder.
"We talked about it a lot," Thompson said in an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment. "It was a big topic of conversation because I think rightfully there's this real want in audiences to see characters be very clearly queer or LGBTQIA+ inside these spaces. And I think it's hugely important to have representation."
Ragnarok never outright labelled Valkyrie as bisexual, much as Loki wasn't in his own show. But there was a scene hinting at her sexuality that was unfortunately cut from the film. According to Thompson, who revealed as much in an interview back in 2017, she convinced director Taika Waititi to film a scene where an unknown woman left her bedroom, but it was cut because "it distracted from the scene's vital exposition."
"I think as humans... we are not defined by our sexuality and by who we love," Thompson said in her interview with Yahoo! "And so sometimes, I think to hang a narrative completely on that is a way of actually diminishing the humanity of the character. Because you don't allow them to be anything else. It becomes the only storyline, particularly in a movie like this where you don't, frankly, have a lot of room for storyline."
We might not see Valkyrie find love in whatever shape or form that takes in Love and Thunder, but perhaps her bisexuality will be more on show than a vague mention or hint.
With the way the MCU is going, developing TV spin-offs for its popular characters, perhaps one day Valkyrie will get her own Disney+ outing to delve deeper into her character. Whatever the future holds, Thompson seems adamant about pushing the bi envelope.