Thor: Ragnarok is now playing in select theaters overseas, and at least so far, Taika Waititi’s threequel has generated a staggering amount of goodwill across the four corners of the industry.
Box office forecasts are through the roof, while Ragnarok has also been a hit among critics – so much so, in fact, that it’s since become the MCU’s highest-rated pic on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s quite an achievement, not least because Marvel’s Thor series was beginning to slip toward franchise fatigue prior to the appointment of Taika Waititi, and the entire journey has been such a resounding success that the New Zealand filmmaker refuses to rule out the possibility of working with Marvel in the not-so-distant future. A female-led Thor movie, perhaps?
But beneath all of the sky-high estimates and glowing reviews, Thor: Ragnarok has also been championed as a progressive step in the right direction for its decision to include Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, the first openly LGBT character to feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That being said, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the film doesn’t actually address her sexuality. If Waititi had had his way though, that wouldn’t have been the case.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in a recent interview, Thompson revealed that there was originally a scene which at least alluded to this part of the character – though Marvel ultimately cut it. Apparently, it would have depicted a woman walking out of Valkyrie’s bedroom, hinting that the two had just shared an intimate moment. Sure, it may not be much, but in a PG-13 film it’s not like they could have shown a whole lot anyways and it still would have been nice to see the threequel acknowledge that the character is indeed bisexual.
To her credit, Tessa Thompson was conscious of Valkyrie’s sexuality while filming Ragnarok, even if the Powers That Be decided against a potential romantic subplot involving her hardened bounty hunter. Diversity for diversity’s sake is one thing, but when the source material has already revealed Valkyrie to be bisexual, the decision to skate around that sadly feels like a missed opportunity.
Dubbed the most-anticipated film of the fall season – ahead of Justice League, no less – Thor: Ragnarok has been booked in for release on November 3rd. Be sure to hang around after the finale of Taika Waititi’s threequel, too, as it’s been confirmed that Ragnarok will come packing not one, but two post-credits scenes.