Tessa Thompson Wants Valkyrie to Join Forces With a Surprise MCU Hero

File this under ideas that actually make sense: Tessa Thompson wants Valkyrie to team up with Ms. Marvel. It is not an announcement, just Thompson saying what she would like to do. Still, it fits the current MCU vibe of unlikely pair-ups that keep somehow happening.

What Thompson said (and when she said it)

Back in 2022, while doing press for Thor: Love and Thunder, Thompson told The Nerds of Color she was especially into the idea of crossing paths with Ms. Marvel, Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan. She framed it less as a power set mash-up and more as a character hang: seasoned warrior meets wide-eyed superfan-turned-hero.

"I think she could still use some mentoring. I think a sort of mutual mentorship between a character could be interesting."

That was during the stretch when Marvel was releasing projects at a dizzying pace, and the prospect of Valkyrie mixing it up with a younger hero clearly appealed to her. And to be fair, it would be fun to watch.

They almost did it already

Thompson's most recent MCU appearance was a brief but notable cameo in 2023's The Marvels. In that movie, King Valkyrie shows up to help Carol Danvers by offering refuge to displaced Skrulls after the Kree wreck their home. Ms. Marvel was, of course, front and center in that film too, so the pieces were all on the same board even if Valkyrie and Kamala did not share a scene.

Why this pairing actually tracks

Kamala has been off-world now, so tossing her into Valkyrie's orbit is not a stretch. You could easily imagine a mission that starts as a quick favor for New Asgard and spirals into a larger threat, with Valkyrie showing Kamala the ropes while Kamala pushes Valkyrie to be a little more hopeful again. The MCU has been very willing to crash characters together (see: three Spider-Men in one movie, and, yes, the Deadpool/Wolverine reunion), so the door is open.

If you are wondering where this could slot in: Avengers: Secret Wars is a real thing on the calendar. 'Avengers: Doomsday' gets tossed around in rumor mills, but that title is not official. Either way, whenever the next big crossover finally forms, this is the kind of dynamic that would give it some personality, not just explosions.

Valkyrie could use a win

Valkyrie's arc has been a lot: once the leader of the Valkyrior, she lost her entire army in battle, retreated to Sakaar, and drank her way through the pain until Thor, Loki, and Hulk pulled her back into the fight during Ragnarok. After Endgame, Thor named her to run New Asgard on Earth, and by Thor: Love and Thunder she was very much the crown-wearing, meeting-attending, monster-slaying monarch. The Marvels even leans into the title: King Valkyrie.

Given all that baggage and the recent string of cameos over full arcs, a meaty pairing with Kamala could be the right kind of reset: let Valkyrie lead, let Kamala learn, and let both characters rub off on each other in a way that is actually character work, not just fan service.

Where you've seen her (and how those movies fared)

• Thor: Ragnarok (Nov 3, 2017) — Director: Taika Waititi — IMDb: 7.9/10 — Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
• Avengers: Endgame (Apr 26, 2019) — Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo — IMDb: 8.4/10 — Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
• Thor: Love and Thunder (Jul 8, 2022) — Director: Taika Waititi — IMDb: 6.1/10 — Rotten Tomatoes: 63%
• The Marvels (Nov 10, 2023) — Director: Nia DaCosta — IMDb: 5.5/10 — Rotten Tomatoes: 63%

The bottom line

Thompson wants it, the timeline supports it, and the chemistry potential is obvious. If Marvel is going to keep mixing veterans with rising heroes, Valkyrie and Ms. Marvel is one of the cleaner, smarter plays. Until someone actually writes it into a script, you can catch all of Valkyrie's outings on Disney+.