Of the three MCU films releasing in 2022, Waititi is teaming up with Hemsworth once again for Thor: Love and Thunder, and a wave of excitement has grown as Thor becomes the first MCU character to head up 4 solo films.
The last time audiences saw Thor was in the epic two-part Infinity Saga finale, rejuvenated by Thanos' defeat and having regained some semblance of his former self. Avengers: Endgame's ending is significant as it set Thor free from all his narrative limitations, especially since he ed on the throne of New Asgard to Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson).
There are many reasons why Thor: Love and Thunder will be the most exciting MCU release of 2022. From the introduction of Russell Crowe's Zeus and the Olympians to the heavily-hyped debut of antagonist Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), Thor 4 is one of the most eagerly awaited MCU projects since Spider-Man: No Way Home. Natalie Portman is back as Jane Foster with her own Mjolnir, Tessa Thompson returns as LGTBTQ+ hero Valkyrie, and old fan-favorite comic-relief characters like Korg (Waititi) will Thor too. If that wasn't enough, Marvel has thrown The Guardians of the Galaxy in for good measure. The potential for world-building and character development in Thor: Love and Thunder easily set it apart from other Marvel movies in 2022 and beyond – not to mention the great comic book arc from which the story of the film draws inspiration and Jane Foster's transformation into the Mighty Thor, one of Marvel's most popular legacy heroes. Is Thor 4 the best Marvel movie? Here's every reason the question could provide reassuring answers for the MCU's Phase 4.
Taika Waititi Is The MCU's Best Comedy Director
One of the most significant reasons for the excitement ahead of Thor: Love and Thunder is that Taika Waititi has returned to direct. Following his massive Thor: The Dark World. Waititi's creative vision for the character even made Chris Hemsworth want to continue playing the character in Thor's next Marvel movies, after reports claimed that he would exit the MCU once Avengers: Endgame had rounded out his initial contract.
Waititi's ingenious balance of comedy, drama, and high stakes is perfect for a story including Gorr The God Butcher, who will be the main inspiration for Thor: Love and Thunder. Even though it promises a lot on paper, many fans were apprehensive – will Thor: Love and Thunder be good even with the debut of new, unproven characters like Gorr and Jane Foster's Thor? As Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness proved, adding more stuff from the comics does not an instant MCU classic make. However, as he proved with Thor: Ragnarok, if there's anyone that can balance a metric ton of new story elements and still deliver an engaging movie, it's Taika Waititi.
Christian Bale As Gorr The God Butcher Can Set A New Standard For MCU Villains
Thor: Love and Thunder is introducing Gorr The God Butcher, one of Thor's most terrifying comic-book villains. Gorr's backstory in the source material is fascinating; Gorr was born on a planet with no name that battles starvation on a daily basis. Filled with grief due to the death of his parents, wife, and all of his children, Gorr abolished his planet's religion and was exiled for denouncing the very concept of a deity. In exile, Gorr witnessed two gods engaged in a battle, one of which was Knull, the creator of the Symbiotes. When the other god started pleading for Gorr's help, Gorr used the Necrosword to kill him. Rage-filled and drunk with power, Gorr vowed to kill every god in the universe, beginning his journey as the God Butcher. In the MCU, Gorr seems to be just as powerful as his comic book counterpart. It's confirmed that Bale's Gorr will be wielding the signature All-Black the Necrosword, and advanced footage has already shown him flexing his powers by blowing up an entire planet. He's definitely not one to mess with, even for a hero like Thor who's faced up against MCU powerhouses Hela and Thanos.
Beyond the character's riveting backstory, Gorr The God Butcher's portrayal by 4-time Gorr is different than other MCU villains. If Bale delivers, Gorr the God Butcher could be up there with Willem Defoe's Green Goblin or Heath Ledger's Joker on lists of movie-defining supervillains.
Jane Foster’s Thor In Love & Thunder Is A Perfect Legacy Hero
Thor: Love and Thunder will feature Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) acquiring Mjolnir and becoming The Mighty Thor. This is in line with Marvel's plan to introduce legacy characters for all the original Avengers, evident by Sam Wilson becoming Captain America, Yelena Belova's introduction in other Phase 4 legacy characters.
Many fans have felt that, of all the love interests and ing characters, the MCU didn't do Jane Foster justice. Portman gave a sterling performance, but Jane Foster in Thor and Thor: Dark World was still shaking off the problem with two-dimensional female leads that 2010s movies in general had (and often still have). Since then, the MCU has introduced strong female characters like Black Widow, Captain Marvel, and Thor: Ragnarok's own Valkyrie. However, these additions made the Jane Foster disservice even more glaringly obvious when rewatching the MCU's early Thor movies. Jane Foster deserves a powerful story arc, and bringing her Thor-powered self from the comics into the MCU in Thor: Love and Thunder appears to be exactly what the franchise needs.
The Mighty Thor comic run that featured Jane as Thor was a huge success, and Jane Foster's Thor is popular with comic readers. The reason for this popularity is her brilliantly crafted origin story and character depth. While Thor is worlds away fighting Gorr, Jane gets diagnosed with breast cancer, forcing her to begin chemotherapy. A series of events lead to her acquiring Mjolnir and receiving Thor's blessing to operate as Thor while he goes by the name Odinson. What's most interesting about the character is the dilemma Jane faces every time she chooses to transform into Thor; every time Jane picks up Mjolnir, all the progress she made during her chemotherapy sessions is lost. Eventually, she is told by Doctor Strange that transforming into Thor will kill her, which Jane is fully aware of when she sacrifices herself to save Asgardia, the new and improved Asgard.
Thor: Love & Thunder's New Characters Can Add To The MCU's Mythology
Thor: Love and Thunder is introducing several new characters into the MCU. In the God Butcher storyline, Thor meets two other variants of himself: an older King Thor, and a younger, more boastful Thor. While audiences might be fatigued with the three variants stunt by the time Thor: Love and Thunder releases, it would still be exciting to see an older version of Thor with the All-Father's powers. Another character begging for his MCU debut is Beta Ray Bill, whose introduction has been highly anticipated for years. However, the real potential for new characters is embedded not in Thor variants (the movie already has Jane Foster's Thor), but within Gorr's god-killing adventures. In the source material, Gorr lays waste to the gods of every pantheon of every planet.
One of the most popular pantheons in Marvel comics, besides the Norse, is Thor: Love and Thunder. However, a fatal encounter between Russell Crowe's Zeus and Bale's Gorr would make for a perfect Hercules Thor: Love and Thunder setup, even if it's just for a post-credits scene.
Thor: Love & Thunder Can Brilliantly Continue One Key Part Of Endgame
Avengers: Endgame left Thor in a better place than the one in which it found him, yet there are still plenty of unresolved plotlines from that film related to his character. The last time audiences saw Thor, he was heading into space with the Guardians of the Galaxy, which opens up various possibilities regarding the opening sequences of Thor: Love and Thunder. Additionally, the MCU is yet to expand on New Asgard's fate. The Asgardian settlement in the town of Tønsberg, Norway is now being led by Valkyrie. New Asgard's return shows that it's become a bureaucratic tourist trap, albeit one with flying goats. No doubt, Valkyrie will be hungry for the adventure that Gorr's onslaught will provide.
There are also some character development threads upon which Thor: Love and Thunder will probably continue to build. Avengers: Endgame introduced the world to a very different version of Thor than the one audiences are used to. Thor lived with PTSD before the Time Heist undid Thanos' Snap, as he felt it was his fault the Snap happened in the first place. Besides his deteriorating mental health, Thor had also gained a lot of weight, which came as a shock considering the character's prior appearance. However, "fat Thor" is transformed in Thor: Love and Thunder, which will accompany a rousing and positive story arc that follows Thor's burgeoning mental health recovery.
Thor: Love And Thunder Will Be An LGBTQ+ Superhero Landmark
As well as featuring a packed list of new and returning characters, Thor: Love and Thunder will be a landmark moment for LGBTQ+ representation in the superhero genre. According to actress Tess Thompson, newly-crowned King Valkyrie of New Asgard will find her queen in Thor: Love and Thunder. It's long been known that Valkyrie is one of the MCU's first openly queer heroes, but this side of her hasn't been overtly represented in the movies thus far. There were plans to state her queerness more boldly, but these have all fallen foul of last-minute editing decisions that left those good intentions on the cutting-room floor. Thompson and Waititi discussed Valkyrie's bisexuality at length when creating the Thor: Love and Thunder storyline, and the actor is happy with how Valkyrie's queerness has been brought to the big screen in the latest MCU movie. "I think rightfully there’s this real want in audiences to see characters be very clearly queer or LGBTQIA inside these spaces." Thompson said (via Yahoo), "And I think it’s hugely important to have representation."
However, both Taika Waititi and Tessa Thompson have gone to lengths to give Valkyrie a story arc that finds her a queen without her queerness becoming the three-dimensional character's defining trait. Speaking in the same interview, Thompson said "as humans, I think that we are not defined by our sexuality, and by who we love. And so sometimes I think to hang a narrative completely on that is a way of actually diminishing the humanity of the character. Because you don’t allow them to be anything else.” Both actor and director are fully aware of Hollywood's history with botching queer characters, either by avoiding representation at all or by reducing previously well-rounded and fleshed-out personalities into harmful token representations. Valkyrie will finally be a character that bucks this trend. Thor: Love and Thunder will do King Valkyrie justice by making her sexuality overt, openly discussed, and yet another reason that the fierce warrior introduced in Thor: Ragnarok has more than earned her place as one of the most popular MCU heroes yet to have a solo venture.
