New Details on Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie in THOR: RAGNAROK Includes Story Info and Character Design
The Thor: Ragnarok news continues to roll in, this time with additional details on Tessa Thompson's warrior character Valkyrie. As you've seen in the photos, she has a great look and this is a character that is going to see some action in the film.
EW recently interviewed director Taika Waititi and Thompson and they discuss the character, the role she plays in the story, and what they were looking to do with the character when bringing her to life. When talking about what he was looking for when casting the role, Waititi said:
“I’m not obsessed with the idea that you have to cast someone just to tick a box. You should cast people because they’re talented. [With Valkyrie] I wanted to make sure we weren’t making a female character that was boring and pretty. What I wanted was someone who was going to play the opposite and be even more of the ‘guy’ character than the guys. Ultimately I thought Tessa was the best person we found.”
I personally love that Thompson was cast and I think she's going to do some great things with the role. Thompson talked a little bit about Valkyrie's role in the story revealing that she is originally from Asgard and says:
"When we meet her and she meets Thor in Sakaar, I can’t really say much about what she’s doing there but she does have a relationship with Jeff Goldblum’s character — it’s a business relationship. She finds Thor and brings Thor to the Grandmaster thinking he might be of interest. The rest is a secret."
Is she going out and collecting warriors to battle it out in the gladiator arena? She went on to talk about her training for the film and how the director wanted Linda Hamilton from Terminator 2 to inspire her.
"She’s a real, real badass. The training was intense. Taika is fantastic. Sometimes with him you’re like are you joking or are you serious? And I was like, What kind of shape do I need to be in? I like to think I’m one of the least athletic people in real life. I don’t do a whole lot when I’m left to my own devices except wield forks and knives.
"Taika sent me a picture of Sarah Connor in [Terminator 2]. She’s incredibly buff and really lean and in leather. I took it seriously. I was like, 'Cool, I want to look like Sarah Connor and do like 10 pull ups.' By the time I was Valkyrie I could do 10 pull ups in one set and take a break and then do 10 more. I got really, really strong and buff."
Thompson is then asked about Valkyrie's character design and the costume she wears in the film, to which she replied:
"That was sort of a Taika remix. Marvel was really great, like 'Do what you will with these characters.' In Ragnarok, you’ll see a Banner like you’ve never seen before. You’ll see Thor with the short hair, which happens when he becomes this gladiator for the Grandmaster. But you really do get to see these established characters in a new way. Obviously if they were really dedicated to the source material they would not have cast me.
"As far as the armor, she’s such a bad ass that she doesn’t need a lot of metal to protect her. I’m essentially in leather. I have some really cool, like, chain mail like basically with my arms I can sort of shield and use them as weapons as well. I wield two daggers, which are sort of attached to me. And I also have a very special sword."
We still have yet to see what the Hulk will look like in the film, but I'm a big fan of what I've seen from all the other characters that have been showed off. I'm excited to see Valkyrie kick some ass in this movie, which hits theaters on November 3rd.