Tessa Thompson Launches Viva Maude
Tessa Thompson – who is most familiar to fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to her role as Valkyrie in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok – is launching a production company, “Viva Maude.” Already Thompson’s production company has inked a two-year first look deal with HBO and HBO Max, with two shows in development each based on great book(s): The Secret Lives of Church Ladies and Who Fears Death.
Tessa Thompson Launches Viva Maude
According Thompson’s statement, Viva Maude will focus on telling diverse and inclusive projects in order to bring impactful storytelling to television.
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor. Photo: DAW Books, Inc.
Who Fears Death is an adaptation of a novel by Nnedi Okorafor. The story follows Onyesowu, a character who must navigate a post-apocalyptic Central Africa.
The project is attached to Aïda Mashaka Croal, a writer who worked on both Jessica Jones and Luke Cage for Netflix. George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones) is also attached to the project as executive producer.
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw. Photo: Amazon
Thompson’s other project in-development, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, is based on a collection of nine short stories by Deesha Philyaw, and explores the complexities of contemporary life. Both Thompson and Philyaw are attached to the project as executive producers.
Thompson’s Returning as Valkyrie in Love and Thunder
In addition to launching Viva Maude, which Thompson says will give opportunities to voices that have traditionally been underrepresented in Hollywood, she will continue to appear on the big screen as Valkyrie.
Tessa Thompson at the Avengers: Endgame premiere in 2019. Photo: Getty Images/Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
In fact, when we last saw Thompson’s character in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, it was revealed she is now the reigning King of New Asgard. And, as Cinema Blend confirmed in December 2020, the King is slated to return in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder.
Love and Thunder will see Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster picking up Mjolnir and shouldering the mantle of Thor. So with Chris Hemsworth‘s Thor chasing space apple’s with Starlord and Matt Damon: Is it possible that we might see a romance between Portman’s Thor and Thompson’s Valkyrie? When Love and Thunder was announced at SDCC19, Tessa Thompson hinted that as King of Asgard, Valkyrie will find her Queen!
