Black Panther looks set to be a real game-changer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the same applies to next year's Captain Marvel movie. With Black Widow also on the way (which may or may not actually be a female-led team-up), the tide is turning for women in the MCU and Tessa Thompson - who took on the role of Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok last November - is understandably excited.
Talking about Black Panther at the recent world premiere, she said it marks an "incredibly important" step forward in Hollywood and went on to explain why this movie matters and what it means to her.
"It's important for the culture. It's important to me," she explained. "I think it's no mistake that folks like Snoop Dogg are here [at the premiere]. It’s important culturally to us that we get to see representation [for people of color], that we get to see ourselves reflected on screen in this way, but also it’s just primed to be a fantastic movie. It's good for all of us and I think the fact it's been the most pre-sold movie in Marvel history speaks to the fact that it's not just for us, it's for everybody."
"In this film, there are all these incredible women in the form of Angela Bassett and Lupita [Nyong'o] and Danai [Gurira]," the Thor: Ragnarok star continued. "We're going to see Brie Larson and her stand alone with Dewanda Wise, who is also here tonight, doing Captain Marvel. We'll see what happens with [her character] Valkyrie next, but yeah, the women rule supreme; they always have. But I think we'll see in the next phase [of Marvel films] that really translate on screen in a real way."
What are you hoping to see come next from the women of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Would you like to see Valkyrie show up outside of the Thor franchise? Share your thoughts in the usual place.