When Taika Waititi put his stamp on the Thor franchise in 2017 with Ragnarok, he redefined Chris Hemsworth’s hero in the best way. After the character was bogged down by Thor: The Dark World, the director’s Marvel debut injected some much needed comedy and style to the film series. Waititi is back in the director’s chair for the upcoming sequel, Thor: Love and Thunder, and as he teases, he wanted to do the “least expected thing” for the franchise following his previous Marvel venture.
Thor: Love and Thunder follows Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder after the events of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, in which the character lost himself in excessive drinking and weight gain. When Taika Waititi described what’s to come in the summer 2022 upcoming Marvel movie, here’s what he said:
Ragnarok felt a bit like a party. It was quite festive. This one is still fun, and it's got moments of being over the top, but thematically, it's about something a bit deeper than the last film. It's not a serious film, and it's not a drama, but we do deal with ideas that I think a lot of humans deal with — universal themes about love and loss and our place in the world. Everyone sort of asks this question in the film: What is your purpose? What is the reason that you're a hero, and what do you do when you have these powers?
The movie will see Thor face off against the villainous Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale, who Taika Waititi called “very layered” and “one of the best villains” for Marvel in his humble and very subjective opinion. The filmmaker also said this to Entertainment Weekly:
It's sort of like a midlife crisis film, really. That's the question we ask everyone: Are we doing the right thing, and are we doing all we can in the world? I think right now, while the world is still healing from this pandemic, it's a good question to ask. It's like, well, are we doing enough to look after each other and to look after ourselves?
It sounds like amidst the laughs and big action moments, Love and Thunder has a strong central message it hopes to convey to audiences. The movie will, of course, feature some of the new friends we met in Ragnarok (which ranks in the top half of CinemaBlend’s Marvel movie ranking) like the Taika Waititi-voiced Korg and Tessa Thompson’s Valykrie.
Additionally, Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster will return, marking her first major role in an MCU film since 2013's The Dark World. This time around, she’ll wield Mjolnir herself, which will be a bit of a shock for the OG God of Thunder. According to Waititi, her comeback will be a “real mindfuck” for Chris Hemsworth’s character. This development should shake up things in a fun way. (Plus, they look great in first-look images.)
Last month, we got our first look at Love And Thunder via a minute and a half teaser, set to the tune of “Sweet Child O' Mine” from Guns N Roses. Check out the first footage for the upcoming Thor sequel:
And yes, we’ll be seeing the Guardians of the Galaxy as well in the movie. The Thor: Love and Thunder has a massive cast list, which also includes Russell Crowe (who is set to play Zeus). We can look forward to the film's release on July 8, 2022.
