Tessa Thompson and Dame Emma Thompson hope their starring roles in ‘Men in Black: International’ pave the way for equality in the movie business.
The actresses star as Agent M and Agent O respectively in the upcoming spin-off of the hit sci-fi action franchise – which also stars the likes of Liam Neeson and Chris Hemsworth – and the pair both discussed how they hope their roles as heroines will have an impact on women in films of the future.
In an interview with Independent.co.uk, Tessa said: "Emma and I … Wow, I can’t believe I said that …
"I mean, Dame Thompson and I had an interesting conversation about women in film.
"This franchise is ‘Men in Black’ and, of course, we’re women.
"But if we’re making a movie set in the future, then I hope women can do anything. That will be the true sign of equality.
"And hopefully movies like this get us there.
"It’s so cool that a generation of young women will see this film and can see themselves as the heroine.
"I think and hope we’re projecting an atypical heroine on screen."
The 35-year-old actress previously revealed she wants to see an all-female Marvel team as there’s "so many incredible, talented women" she wants to work with.
Tessa made her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ as Valkyrie and has revealed that since ‘Captain Marvel’ – the first female-led stand-alone film in the MCU starring Brie Larson as the titular hero – she’s "excited" about the possibility of creating a squad of female heroes.
She said: "Brie is a friend, and I just like hanging out with her; and I’m so excited. Obviously, it’s been a long time coming for Marvel to have a movie led by one of their female characters that exists in the canon
"There was this whole idea that I was on Kevin Feige [Marvel President] about doing an all-female, A-Force or something, but really it just has to do with the fact that there’s so many incredible, talented women in the MCU that I just want to work with selfishly.
"So I’m like, ‘Well, why not do it in the context of like fighting folks and hanging out in space?’ "
The ‘Creed II’ star has previously admitted she can’t wait to see what happens with the strong women in the MCU and insisted 2018’s ‘Black Panther’ – the first Marvel film with a predominantly black cast – was full of "incredible women".
She said: "In this film, there are all these incredible women in the form of Angela Bassett and Lupita [Nyong’o] and Danai [Gurira].
"We’re going to see Brie Larson and her standalone with Dewanda Wise, who is also here tonight, doing ‘Captain Marvel’.
"We’ll see what happens with Valkyrie next, but yeah, the women rule supreme; they always have. But I think we’ll see in the next phase [of Marvel films] that really translate on screen in a real way."
Tessa Thompson hopes Men in Black: International paves the way for equality
