Thor: Ragnarok Star Says It’s Time for Marvel to Dial Back the Jokes

Tessa Thompson wants to see Valkyrie get a little less quippy and a lot more serious. In a new interview, she basically said: we have mostly seen Valkyrie in joke-forward mode, and she is curious what happens if you drop her into a project that is not built around comedy. That is an intriguing shift for a character introduced in Thor: Ragnarok and last seen stealing scenes in Thor: Love and Thunder.

The vibe shift she is asking for

Thompson talked about it on Collider Ladies Night with Perri Nemiroff, reflecting on how Marvel projects swing wildly in tone and how that changes what an actor can do from film to film.

'I feel like I have mostly existed in kind of a comedic space with Valkyrie, but I am curious, if I were in a film that felt less comedic, how she would show up in those particular spaces.'

She also called out one of the perks of the job: getting tossed into scenes with a murderer’s row of co-stars. As she put it, 'One of the things that is so cool about getting to play in the MCU is obviously all the incredible actors that you get to act alongside.' Not exactly a shocking take, but fair.

The team-up she wants next

Thompson name-checked Sebastian Stan as someone she would love to share a project with. Stan, of course, plays Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier. She was very up front about it: 'I do not know what his character would bring out in me, necessarily, but I just really love Sebastian.' She added that they have both wanted to work together for a while.

• Where this came from: a chat with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff on Collider Ladies Night
• Thompson has played Valkyrie since Thor: Ragnarok
• Main wish: put Valkyrie in a less comedic setting and see what that unlocks
• Dream partner: Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier
• Tip of the hat: this was first flagged by Disheeta Maheshwari at SuperHeroHype

Whether Marvel gives her that lane is the big question. But if a darker, straighter-toned project is on the board, do not be surprised if Valkyrie rides in looking a little different than the last time we saw her.