ACE Comic Con Midwest: Brie Larson and Tessa Thompson Talk MCU

As Captain Marvel and Valkyrie, Brie Larson and Tessa Thompson play some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s fiercest characters. Between the two of them, they’ve had three wildly successful, beloved films in the Marvel franchise: Thor: Ragnorak, Captain Marvel, and Avengers: Endgame, the highest-grossing film of all time.

Larson and Thompson stopped by ACE Comic Con Midwest in Chicago to discuss representation in film, the stories they like to tell, and why a MCU-based musical needs to happen.

Edited for length and clarity

On role models
BL: Mine have always been pop stars. I love the divas so much.
TT: Actually similar– Prince and David Bowie. Anyone who dressed weird.

How roles have personally and professionally impacted them
BL: There’s no peace to whatever character I do. Part of the beauty of getting to play these characters is getting close to them and the subject matter. So whether it was learning about foster care for Short Term 12, learning about abuse from Room, or female strength from Captain Marvel, there’s so much to learn. It’s one of the things I love most about my job.

On how it feels to be super heroes
TT: What really makes any of these characters super heroes is when they have to face their fears. There’s a lot of talk about “strong female characters”– but to me, Valkyrie’s strength is that she is able to be vulnerable and say, “Hey, all my sisters died; that sucks, and I drink a lot because of it. I don’t know why I’m here anymore.” I feel like a lot of us feel that way sometimes: we don’t know what we’re doing and if we’re strong enough. For me, that’s what makes these characters really human. They can face their fears, they can learn to truth other people– that’s what makes it awesome. None of us are natural super heroes– I’m still learning, both on screen and in my actual life.

On playing a LGBTQ+ super hero
TT: I hope we can get to a space where we see so much representation that we don’t have to congratulate anybody because we just know that it exists and it’s not going away.

On the future path of Valkyrie and Captain Marvel in the MCU
BL: We don’t know anything! I’m so glad because I’m a terrible liar!
TT: I’d want to work together as a team, us women doing things, in a film or two!
BL: We want to see females working together on film. We really have been saying this a lot. But the more that people are saying they want that, the higher the likelihood is that it will happen.
TT: We should do a MCUsical. There’s a lot of people with musical talent [in the MCU]. Tom Holland can do flips and splits. I’m going to pitch that!

On how they feel about their past career choices
BL: I mean, I’m not totally stoked about my early 2000s bangs. I’m not super mad about it; but if I had to change it, I would. If I could have told myself about dry shampoo in the early 2000s, I would have.
TT: I think we’re moving towards a time in TV and film where there’s the most representation we’ve ever seen. That’s exciting. I think I would have told my younger self not to wait for that to exist and to create it. So I would say to anybody out there who has an idea and feels like they have something to say and they don’t see it, and so they feel like they can’t exist: if you tell it, then it exists. I would probably say that to my younger self: don’t wait for anybody to give you permission to tell your story.

On what draws you to a role
BL: I knew I wanted to do movies when I was really little. But the thing that kept me in it was watching movies and not connecting with them and thinking I didn’t see myself on screen, which made me feel scared. It made me feel depressed, anxious, and like my experience didn’t exist. So every film that I’ve made has been a message in a bottle. It’s been a way for me to capture some essence of myself and share it with the world.

On what you’re looking forward to in the MCU
TT: I’m just super looking forward to a woman wielding the hammer.

Find more Ace Comic Con Midwest coverage by checking out panel recaps for Kiernan Shipka & Ross Lynch, Kit Harington and Gwendoline Christie!