Stephany Folsom is the newest writer to join “Thor Ragnarok”, as announced by The Hollywood Reporter yesterday. Folsom is the third writer to work on the film (under the guidance of director Taika Waititi), and is the third overall female writer to write a Marvel Studios script.
Folsom (“1969: A Space Odyssey,” “Princess of North Sudan”) joins previous “Thor Ragnarok” writers Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle, who have been working on the script since January 2014. Craig Kyle apparently was brought on to write the third “Thor” film because of his passion and devotion on the set of the first two films, previously serving as Marvel Studios Senior VP of production and development.
Now that Yost and Kyle have turned the script over to Folsom, does that mean there will be more female characters in the third “Thor” film? If Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and Lady Sif (Jamie Alexander) are back for the film, and if they introduce new female characters, there could be a huge shift in tone for the film. There have already been rumors that the female warrior Valkyrie will be appearing, as concept art was already developed for her to be in “Thor The Dark World”. Valkyrie also has connections to Doctor Strange in the comics, which will be Marvel's next film, after “Captain America Civil War”. Fans have also long clamored for the Enchantress to show up, who could make a great foil for Loki, if he indeed stages an uprising on Asgard in the third “Thor” film.
With Marvel moving to hire more female screenwriters for their films, could this be inspired by Nicole Perlman's years of work on “Guardians of the Galaxy” or her current work on “Captain Marvel” with fellow screenwriter Meg LeFauve (“Inside Out”)? Perhaps Marvel Television has inspired them to embrace more female writers? Two women run “Agent Carter” — Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters — and Maurissa Tancharoen is one half of the team behind “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Both of these shows boast not only strong female characters, like Agent Carter (Hayley Atwell), Madame Masque (Wynn Everett), Daisy “Quake” Johnson (Chloe Bennet), Agent May (Ming-Na Wen), and Mockingbird (Adrianne Palicki), but also strong female showrunners, producers and screenwriters.
Since Marvel Television has such a great track record with female screenwriters, hopefully this is a trend that their counterpart, Marvel Studios, will continue to embrace.
“Thor Ragnarok” opens in theaters November 3, 2017.