Valkyrie Is Recast For ‘What If’ Series

Tessa Thompson has received praise for her performance as the tough, gritty King Val and Valkyrie in the Thor franchise, particularly since her character and Natalie Portman’s character Jane Foster provided some laughs in the newest Thor movie Thor: Love and Thunder. However, Tessa Thompson might not be back as Valkyrie!

The next Thor-related installment should be part of the second season of the popular show What If…?, which takes Marvel stories and gives them major shifts to explore different storylines. King Valkyrie is apparently showing up in season two — but Tessa Thompson is not.

Although many Marvel fans might be disappointed by the change in casting, since Tessa Thompson’s sardonic King Valkyrie is a fan favorite and provides plenty of comic relief (not to mention fun fight moves, since she is an Asgard warrior), the idea of a Marvel character being recast for What If…? is nothing new.

Jeff Goldlbum is voicing his Grandmaster character and Taika Waititi is returning as Korg, but otherwise, several characters are being voiced by new actors (including Dave Bautista’s character Drax).

Gamora (the character played by Zoe Saldana) is now voiced by Cynthia McWilliams, and the Robert Downey Jr. character Iron Man is voiced by Mick Wingert. These characters were seen in the new trailer for the second season of What If…?, as well as the Grandmaster and Korg, but “an unknown voice actress” was playing Valkyrie.

In season two of What If…?, it sounds like Marvel fans can expect to see some variant versions of Hela, Captain America, Thanos, Bucky Barnes, Wenwu, Ying Li, Odin, The Great Protector, Ant-Man, Yondu, Peter Parker, Shang-Chi, Peter Quill, Ego, and the Red Guardian  (according to the Marvel website). 

The late Chadwick Boseman reprised his role of T’Challa the Black Panther for the first season of What If…?, and has subsequently been posthumously nominated for an Emmy.

Many fans will remain hopeful that Tessa Thompson’s absence from the show is simply due to scheduling issues, rather than a sign that the actress is done with her role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Are you a fan of Valkyrie as Tessa Thompson portrays her, and are you disturbed by the idea of another actress playing the Asgardian warrior?