Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is about to accomplish something that no other hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has done yet: lead more than three solo movies. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, we’ll reunite with the MCU’s God of Thunder in Thor: Love and Thunder, and while the Phase 4 flick was delayed to 2022 earlier this year, it sounds it’s gearing up to begin production relatively soon.
In its report about Chris Hemsworth, Anya Taylor-Joy and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II being cast in Warner Bros’ Mad Max spinoff Furiosa, Deadline mentioned that Thor: Love and Thunder is currently in preproduction and will kick off filming next March in Australia, which loosely lines up with what Natalie Portman said back in July. So while we’ll someday get to see Hemsworth leave his stamp on the Mad Max franchise, not to mention star in Extraction 2 and the Hulk Hogan biopic, Thor: Love and Thunder will be the next movie he works on.
Of course, given the current health crisis, plans for film and TV productions can be tossed aside in an instance these days. Right now things might be shaping up for Thor: Love and Thunder to begin principal photography in Australia (which is also where Thor: Ragnarok was shot) come March, but maybe filming will need to be pushed back due to extenuating circumstances.
For now though, Thor: Love and Thunder is aiming to screen for the masses in early 2022, so it makes sense that it would begin filming next March. Originally the fourth Thor movie was intended to be the final entry in the MCU’s Phase 4 slate, but as a result of the various release date reshuffles that have taken place since spring, production was pushed back and the project is now in the penultimate slot, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness wrapping up this MCU era instead.
While no specific plot details for Thor: Love and Thunder have been revealed yet, the story will involve Thor reuniting with his ex-girlfriend, Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, who will follow in her comic book counterpart’s footsteps and become The Mighty Thor. Love and Thunder will also see Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie search for a queen to rule New Asgard alongside her, and Vin Diesel revealed that the Guardians of the Galaxy will be involved, although it hasn’t been clarified if it will only be some of the members or the entire team.
Along with reprising his Korg duties, Taika Waititi is returning to direct Thor: Love and Thunder, and he co-wrote the script with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. As far as new characters go, Christian Bale has been cast as Love and Thunder’s main antagonist, but it hasn’t been revealed who he’s playing yet. It was also once rumored that the alternate timeline Loki, who’s leading his own Disney+ series, could show up, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Assuming things go according to the current plan, Thor: Love and Thunder will storm into theaters on February 11, 2022. Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on its progress, and learn what other movies are coming down the MCU creative pipeline with our comprehensive guide.
