Full spoilers for Avengers: Endgame below.
In the wake of Avengers: Endgame, a whole lot of possibilities have been opened up for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Steve Rogers passed on the shield to Sam Wilson after finally settling down, Thor joined the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Pepper Potts got to kick ass in an Iron Man suit of her own. There’s surely no shortage of stories to be told as we head into Phase 4, both on the big and small screens, but one, in particular, could break all sorts of new ground for the MCU—a New Asgard spin-off, starring the one and only Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie.
In a recent interview with the LA Times, Thompson stated that she’d “heard that a pitch has happened” for a fourth Thor movie, which she expects will be directed by Taika Waititi. But since the God of Thunder is now an honorary Guardian of the Galaxy, could we be in for something altogether different from Taika Waititi and co.?
Well, before taking off to space, Thor entrusted the fate of New Asgard with Valkyrie. The events of Infinity War and Endgame were traumatic, to say the least, for him and you can hardly blame the guy for wanting to get away from it all. It, therefore, made perfect sense to hand leadership over to a leader, warrior, and protector of Asgard, qualities of which Valkyrie is the perfect embodiment of. “You know, I’d make a lot of changes around here,” she tells Thor in their final scene, which sounds an awful lot like a promise if you ask me.
A Time for Healing
Much like their former ruler, the people of Asgard have been through rather a lot. After several years of Loki (in disguise as Odin)’s rule, they came under siege from Hela the Goddess of Death, during which time their top fighters were all killed, while Thor was banished to Sakaar. And by the time the God of Thunder returned, it was time to pack their things and look on as their home was destroyed. All well and good, though, since Asgard is a people, not a place. Well, that nice sentiment is lessened somewhat when half your survivors are wiped out by a genocidal maniac on a quest for the final Infinity Stone.
What I’m getting at here is that the Asgardians could really do with a period of healing, now that the whole Thanos situation has been dealt with. As we know from Endgame, Valkyrie was already acting as a de facto leader of New Asgard, but with a spin-off like this, we can finally get a real sense of how she’d lead these displaced people. This could be a great opportunity to tell a timely story about a people whose home was taken from them, forced to relocate and adjust to a totally new way of life.
What new challenges would they face in their new home, and would the people of Earth automatically accept them? If Marvel really wants to play into the real-world parallels, they could have the film’s antagonist be an Earth-bound one, a villain who disapproves of all these Asgardians moving into their back yard. Alternatively, we could see one of Odin’s old enemies—like the Frost Giants or the Dark Elves—looking to take advantage of their newly-weakened enemy. Either way, to continue Ragnarok‘s theme of confronting Asgard’s colonial past, this spin-off could show us how these people react to being on the other side of that. And more than anything else in the MCU’s back catalogue, give us a story, not just about one hero, but the people she’s responsible for too.
A New Leader
Just like the rest of Asgard, Valkyrie herself would have a whole lot of adjusting to do. She may have been a warrior at the height of her powers once, but life wasn’t always kind to her. When we first met the character back in Ragnarok, she was drifting aimlessly through life, drinking to forget and hoping that nobody from her old life could ever find her. She and the rest of the Valkyries’ defeat at the hands of Hela left a deep wound, the kind that nobody could blame her for wanting to run away from.
But when offered the chance to put the Goddess of Death down once and for all, Valkyrie sees an opportunity to reclaim a part of herself she thought was gone. Donning her old uniform and triumphantly standing beside her fellow Revengers, she starts on a path to reclaiming her sense of purpose. And it’s hard to imagine her journey is anywhere near complete when we next meet up with her in Endgame, which combined with her recent promotion, makes for extremely fertile ground for some great character growth. How does her leadership differ from Thor’s? And what changes is she speaking of at the end of Endgame? I, for one, would very much like to find out.
Fixing Past Mistakes
Marvel’s track record when it comes to representation has been, well, spotty. It took until 2018 for a person of color to headline their own movie and for a female hero to have their name in the title of one, while it wasn’t until this year that a woman got her own solo movie. No projects currently in development (that we know about) have a woman of color in the lead role, while LGTBQ+ representation has thus far only taken the form of scraps. Endgame co-director Joe Russo took it upon himself to play what many took to calling Marvel’s first openly gay character, but for many, this moment was no more than a half-hearted attempt to score points.
However, in Ragnarok‘s glorious flashback involving the last stand of the Valkyries, it’s suggested that the woman with whom our hero shares a clear connection is actually a romantic partner. This was to be made more explicit in a scene that unfortunately did not make it into the final film. But a Valkyrie spin-off would be the perfect opportunity for a) the first woman of color to lead a Marvel movie, and b) to openly acknowledge the queer sexuality of an important character, in a way that would feel meaningful to the audience. Mistakes have been made in the past, but more than any other potential project, this one could really show a studio is willing to make positive strides.
Tessa Thompson
I mean, what more needs to be said about Tessa Thompson at this point? She’s dazzled audiences in everything from Westworld to Janelle Monáe‘s Dirty Computer, and unsurprisingly made for a pretty badass superhero too. While still lending her talents to smaller films like Little Woods and Sorry to Bother You, she’s set to become a box office draw in her own right in this year’s Men In Black: International, and we honestly can’t think of a better choice to take the MCU into a bold new future.
With so many new stories to tell in the wake of the climactic Endgame, it’s more important than ever for Marvel to consider who those stories are about. Black Panther and Captain Marvel might have made waves as far as representation in superhero movies go, but the work is far from done. The real challenge will be sustaining the inclusive message these films promote as we head into Phase 4 and beyond.
But what would your dream spin-off be? And what would you like to see in a Valkyrie/New Asgard one?
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