Thor: Love And Thunder actor Tessa Thompson has discussed which MCU characters she'd like to see in a potential Valkyrie solo film. With Chris Hemsworth leading the charge, Thor: Love And Thunder boasts a talented cast that includes Thompson as Valkyrie, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster/Mighty Thor, Taika Waititi as Korg and MCU newcomer and Oscar-winner Christian Bale as villain Gorr the God Butcher. The cast is also rounded out by Christ Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillian, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel as The Guardians of the Galaxy. The God of Thunder's fourth solo outing will hit theaters on July 8th.

Thompson first played Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok, portrayed as apathetic and world-weary ex-hero. While initially antagonistic towards Thor, she eventually joined forces with him and Bruce Banner/Hulk to defeat Hela. In Avengers: Endgame, Valkyrie survived the Blip and helped to create a new home on Earth for surviving Asgardians known as "New Asgard." She would eventually join the Avengers in their final battle against Thanos and helped to defeat the Mad Titan and his army. Endgame saw Thor officially crown Valkyrie her as king of New Asgard, before leaving with the Guardians. As Thompson is reprising Valkyrie for a third time in Thor: Love And Thunder, there has been speculation about the character's MCU future. While Marvel has given no indication that they are interested in a solo Valkyrie film, however, Thompson has an idea of what this may look like.

Thompson recently sat down with Cinepop while doing the promotional rounds for Thor: Love And Thunder. One of the questions posed was about which Marvel characters she would like to see Valkyrie fight alongside in a potential solo series or film. Thompson name-dropped Mark Ruffalo's Hulk and "anyone from Wakanda," who made their debut in Black Panther. Read Thompson's full comments below:

"Well I really miss Mark Ruffalo and I really miss Banner and Hulk so I think he'd be my number one pick. And then really anyone from Wakanda. I would love to be able to fight alongside any of the incredible Wakandans, particularly all the incredible female warriors. I think Valkyrie would really relate to them. In our film we have Toothngasher and Toothgrinder, two new intergalactic goats. And they would have to be with me and of course Miek would have to be with me. Now I think the Wakandans are the only great fighters in this bunch, but I think we would do okay."

Valkyrie appearing alongside Banner makes sense given the characters' history together, and the entertaining chemistry between Thompson and Ruffalo in Ragnarok. While Valkyrie didn't spend a great amount of time interacting with the Wakandans, however, she did fight alongside them in Avengers: Endgame and even have shared screen time with Okoye and Shuri in the "A-Force" shout-out during the final battle. With the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever a few months away and an Okoye origin series in development, Marvel may be more amenable to granting Thompson's wish of future team-ups between Valkyrie and the Wakandans. The inclusion of Miek, Toothngasher and Toothgrinder in any future Valkyrie projects would certainly continue the light-hearted, eccentric humor established in the Taika Waititi-directed Thor films, provided these characters survive the events of Thor: Love And Thunder.

Marvel has yet to announce any plans for a Valkyrie film or TV series, and with Phase 4 mapped out, it is likely that Thompson will have to wait till Phase 5 or beyond before she gets her own solo outing. That being said, Marvel has proven how successful they can be with lesser-known comics characters — such as the Guardians, and more recently Shang-Chi. Consider Valkyrie's popularity and Thompson's growing star power, there is certainly a strong argument to be made for a solo Valkyrie film in the future. With Marvel's recent expansion of female-led properties such as WandaVision, Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, and Echo, if the studio continues in this direction, a Valkyrie solo project should be part of the conversation. Until then, audiences will just have to settle for Valkyrie's upcoming appearance in Thor: Love And Thunder.

Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)
Release Date: Jul 08, 2022