After just five months of 2022, we are already deep into this year’s slate of titles coming from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Moon Knight having completed its run of episodes on Disney+, and Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness having arrived in theaters. It won’t be long until the next titles are arriving though, with the Ms. Marvel series coming in June, and Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love And Thunder hitting in July – and in the regards to the latter, we are more pumped than ever thanks to the arrival of last night’s brand new trailer for the Marvel blockbuster.
The new footage tells us quite a lot about the movie – especially compared to the first Thor: Love and Thunder trailer – but there are also a number of moments that leave us with question marks flying around our heads. It’s in an effort to break these bits down that we’ve put together this feature.
Is It Too Much To Hope That Korg Narrates The Whole Movie?
Thor: Ragnarok doesn’t waste any time at all bringing the funny, the blockbuster’s opening scene featuring the titular God of Thunder recounting what’s recently been going on in his life in the wake of the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Watching the new trailer for Thor: Love And Thunder, I was reminded of this by Korg’s storytelling monologue – with the rocky rebel telling a group of children about the legend of Thor Odinson. But this time around I hoping that it’s not just a sample from an exposition dump at the start of the film. Instead, I’m wondering if it might be a sample of voice over narration that is featured throughout the full runtime of the movie.
Most of the questions in this feature are in regard to details that may influence the plot of Thor: Love and Thunder, but I also want to use this space to ponder possibilities about the film’s structure. Is it too much to hope that Korg telling Thor’s story is part of a wraparound device used to guide the narrative of the film? If so, it would not only be an amazing way to utilize Korg as a character, but also be a brilliant meta touch, given that he is voiced by Taika Waititi.
What Other Gods Might We See In Thor: Love And Thunder?
With the second Thor: Love And Thunder trailer, audiences get clued into the central plot of the upcoming movie – namely that a being named Gorr The God Butcher has an axe to grind, and he is going around the universe trying to kill every god he can find. This obviously puts a target on Thor’s back, and it feels safe to assume that Zeus’ life is in very real danger as well… but they can’t be the only gods who will be at risk, right?
Between original creations and figures borrowed from various mythologies (even beyond just Norse and Greek), the history of Marvel Comics has a vast number of deity characters, and it’s possible that we could end up seeing any number of them featured in Thor: Love and Thunder as the film works to showcase Gorr as an antagonist who is very capable of accomplishing his stated mission.
What Does It Mean That Valkyrie Has Zeus’ Lightning Bolt?
In Thor: Love and Thunder, audiences will get the opportunity to catch up with Valkyrie for the first time since she took on the responsibility of being King of Asgard in Avengers: Endgame. As demonstrated in the footage from the new trailer, however, her political responsibilities are not going to stop her from getting involved in battles across the universe. She is going to be prominently featured joining Thor, Mighty Thor (a.k.a. Jane Foster), and Korg in the battle against Gorr – and to boot, she is fighting with an exciting new weapon.
Pausing the Thor: Love and Thunder trailer at the 1:37 mark, it’s made apparent that the weapon Valkyrie is using to spar with Gorr isn’t the fancy sword that she keeps in a scabbard attached to her waist, but instead one of Zeus’ famed lightning bolts. If I’m being an optimist, it’s possible that the Greek God gave it to her as a means of helping in the stopping of Gorr, but I actually think it’s much more likely that this detail suggests some very bad and sad things for Zeus in the Marvel movie.
What’s The Story Behind the Black-And-White Effect?
The new Thor: Love and Thunder trailer gives us a nice preview of the movie’s style at large, with Taika Waititi not holding back in demonstrating his affection for bright and colorful costuming and production design. That being said, the most interesting aesthetic touch introduced in the footage is definitely the material that features a distinct lack of color.
Context clues deliver the impression that the black-and-white effect has something to do with the powers expressed by Christian Bale’s Gorr The God Butcher, but the rules of it aren’t precisely clear. There are some moments that are completely lacking any color at all, there are some frames that have minor splashes of color (like Gorr’s gold eyes), and there are moments when the environment is totally desaturated but characters are presented in their full vibrant glory. It’s a curious style choice, and I anticipate the explanation in the film.
Why Is Zeus Keeping Thor Contained?
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the God of Thunder has a repeating detainment problem. In Thor, he is put in custody by S.H.I.E.L.D. after he makes moves to recover Mjolnir. In Avengers, he gets trapped in the cage designed for Loki. And in Thor: Ragnarok, he not only starts the movie locked up, but also becomes a gladiator slave when he travels to Sakaar. The new footage from Thor: Love and Thunder suggests that the pattern will extend in the upcoming movie… but why?
Plot context would suggest the possibility that Thor is traveling to see Zeus in order to tell him about Gorr and his villainous plans to rid reality of gods, so why is it that the Strongest Avenger once again finds himself chained up? Valkyrie, Jane Foster and Korg seem to be getting treated quite well as outsiders, so why is the son of Odin getting such rough treatment? My first guess is that there is some kind of MCU canon history between Thor and Zeus to which we are not privy to just yet, and hopefully that will provide some surprises when Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters.
Thor: Love And Thunder, starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Taika Waititi, and Russell Crowe, is set to come out in just a few months, arriving in the middle of summer on July 8, 2022. To keep track of everything that is coming up from the Marvel Cinematic Universe – on the big and small screens – check out our Upcoming Marvel Movies and Upcoming Marvel TV guides.
