Rather early in the intergalactic adventure that is Nia DaCosta's The Marvels, Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers is casually paid a visit by Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie to help her on her mission. You know, no big deal. The character who was last seen among the Thor: Love and Thunder cast appears in a spiffy suit. But, how did the cameo come about?
In The Marvels moment, Carol calls Valkyrie up to take a group of endangered Skrulls to New Asgard. Along with helping out her Avengers pal, Valkyrie also takes a moment to comfort Carol in a difficult hour, and she suggests that she “stand tall without standing alone” with her unlikely team of Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan. The Marvels producer Mary Livanos had this to say about the scene coming together:
Pairing Carol with Valkyrie and having them share the big screen was another bucket list item. Fans really shipped them and their friendship, and as a huge nerd myself, I was dying to see that relationship on the big screen. Nia DaCosta is quite close with Tessa Thompson, so we had to write in a cameo. She's such an empathetic, wonderful character. When we were trying to figure out exactly how to help the Skrulls after the events that take place on Tarnax, we were excited at the idea that Valkyrie could help in this novel way.
While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Livanos shared that Tessa Thompson’s inclusion in The Marvels was a combination of the filmmakers listening to fans and the actress already having a connection with director Nia DaCosta. It’s true that some Marvel fans have long rooted for Captain Marvel and Valkyrie to be together, particularly in the romantic sense.
Valkyrie is known to be a bisexual character in the MCU and while Carol Danver’s isn’t not canonically queer in the comics or MCU, she’s become somewhat of an LGBTQ+ icon. Prior to this cameo, Brie Larson and Tessa Thompson appeared at ACE Comic Con in Chicago and when a fan asked about their popular ship, Thompson said this (via ComicBook):
Brie is my real-life queen, in general. If it becomes canon, that's cool, too.
The short moment that occurs in The Marvels was too short for one to surmise between a sweet friendship and romance between the heroes, but as Livanos shared, the scene was very much a reaction to fans’ love for the pairing. Additionally, Thompson and Nia DaCosta go way back, especially considering the actress starred in the director’s 2018 debut film Little Woods. The pair are also set to reunite on DaCosta’s next movie, Hedda.
The Marvels opened No. 1 at the box office last weekend but to the weakest opening weekend of any MCU movie to date. Although the film originally debuted with a “rotten” Rotten Tomatoes score, it later flipped to fresh, and it has earned a “B” CinemaScore. Check it out in theaters now, and check out what upcoming Marvel movies are set to be released next here on CinemaBlend.
