Warning: this story references minor spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder.
Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi and star Natalie Portman described the new film as “super gay” when they were at the film’s London premiere on Wednesday night. But fans aren’t too sure whether that’s true.
Waititi, Portman and co-star Tessa Thompson attended the film’s premiere in London. A fan in the audience during a Q&A before the screening just how queer the film was.
Portman claimed it was “super gay” before Waititi repeated her answer, telling fans to “enjoy it.”
But LGBTQIA+ MCU fans and viewers such as GQ writer Jack King said they felt the film wasn’t as queer as the cast claimed it would be when they watched the screening.
“Before the THOR 4 screening last night Natalie Portman called it ‘so gay’. Devastated to report — and really, you won’t believe this — that she lied.”
One viewer claimed there was very little LGBTQIA+ representation in the film.
“I think she must have been watching a different movie. The only things I picked up on was Valkyrie very subtly addressing she was in a relationship with a woman and something relating to Korg (No spoilers) that was in my opinion played for laughs.”
But another fan said it was painstakingly obvious that Valkyrie (Thompson) and Korg (Waititi) were queer. They added they were “very happy with it”.
“You absolutely cannot watch this movie and miss Valkyrie and Kong both being queer unless you’re actively not listening.”
Taika Waititi also plays Blackbeard in HBO’s pirate-themed comedy Our Flag Means Death. The series has been celebrated by LGBTQIA+ people and their allies for the way it treats queer characters and gender, and the beautifully written love story between Waititi’s character and Rhys Darby‘s Gentleman Pirate.
You can check out the alleged queer representation in the new Marvel flick for yourself and watch Thor: Love and Thunder in cinemas on July 8.