Tessa Thompson on Valkyrie’s Two Different Costumes in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’

Valkyrie is poised to be one of the breakout stars of Thor: Ragnarok, and Creed actress Tessa Thompson put in quite a bit of work to create a new version of the iconic Marvel Comics warrior for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

We already reported on Thompson’s extensive sword training with the same fight coordinator used for DC’s Wonder Woman movie – but in Ragnarok, Valkyrie will also be going through a couple of costume designs, as well. While visiting the set of Thor: Ragnarok, we talked with Tessa Thompson to learn more about why Valkyrie will be getting some wardrobe changes in the film.

As Thompson (dressed in alien-looking clothing, sans armor) describes it:

“Well, actually I’m armor-less now, so you are getting — this is like Valkyrie in the nude. [LAUGHTER]… This is sort of one Valkyrie look, so there are two in the movie…. Tom Hiddleston yesterday was like ‘how many times do you change in this movie, man?’ He’s like the diva of the film. [LAUGHTER] and he has like six changes.

I thought I was fancy with two, um, but we, we get to see Valkyrie… in the beginning when she’s on Sakaar, which is maybe closer to what, Valkyrie that fans might know from the comics. And then this is sort of a classic kind of battle look that is closer to what she would have been in when she was with the Valkyrie and one of those warriors.”

A Warrior Look

We already know a bit more of the backstory for Valkyrie that Thompson alludes to, thanks to the Thor Ragnarok trailers. From what we’ve seen, The Valkyrie war a band of female warriors who rode into battle against Cate Blanchett’s Hela at some point in the past. That battle with Hela was apparently costly, and shattered ranks of The Valkyrie, leaving Thompson’s character as possibly one of the last ones living (if not the last).

Somewhere between that “Fall of The Valkyrie” and the events of Thor: Ragnarok Valkyrie ended up in the service of The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), and his gladiatorial games on the planet Sakaar. While working on Sakaar, Valkyrie adopts the more leather-clad look that we see in much of the film; however, when Thor recruits her for his team in a final battle for Asgard against Hela, it seems like Valkyrie breaks out her ceremonial armor, in order to take proper vengeance for her people against the goddess of Death. 

Based on how Thompson describes things though, it seems that superhero movie costumes still haven’t come far enough to provide actual comfort in addition to aesthetic payoff: 

“The designs are incredible. I mean, they’re, they’re so detailed. This [costume] is made entirely with plastic, so it’s not the most comfortable thing to wear but I think it’s really strong and, and gives a really bold look and is something that later in the film in the third act that it becomes kind of a centerpiece of Valkyrie at that moment.”

Thor: Ragnarok will hit theaters on November 3, 2017. For more of what we learned on set, be sure to visit our full database page below!