Love & Thunder Star Reveals Surprising Influence for Valkyrie

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Thor: Love and Thunder star, Tessa Thompson, reveals a surprising way Shakespeare influenced her performance as Valkyrie. The highly anticipated Thor sequel finds the titular character in the midst of a mid-life crisis as he struggles to pick up the pieces following the devastating events of Avengers: Endgame. With Thanos defeated and his family dead, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) searches for a new purpose in his life. However, when Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) steps into the fray with a mission to wipe out all gods, Thor must reunite with his best friend Korg (Taika Waititi), the Guardians of the Galaxy, his former love interest Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) as the Mighty Thor, and the Asgardian warrior King Valkyrie to take on the new villain.

Following the complete destruction of Thor's home world of Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok, as well as the death of many of his people at the hands of Hela and her army, the survivors settled in the village of Tønsberg, Norway and renamed it New Asgard. Although Thor was their ruler during that time, Valkyrie ran the kingdom as the God of Thunder struggled with depression following his perceived failure against Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. However, after their success in defeating an alternate Thanos in Avengers: Endgame and resurrecting the dead, Thor chose to join the Guardians of the Galaxy while Valkyrie took up the mantle as King of Asgard.

Related: Why Thor: Love & Thunder's Villain Threatens Valkyrie's Future

While as a guest on the popular talk show Hot Ones, Thompson revealed that her experience with Shakespeare influenced her performance as Valkyrie in Thor: Love and Thunder. When asked whether her time with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company informed her