Chris Pratt jokingly says Taika Waititi stuck James Gunn with Thor: Love and Thunder's space goats. Since its inception with Marvel Studios' Iron Man, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has never failed to entertain fans by having characters from different franchises interact. One of the most memorable meetings came in Avengers: Infinity War when the Guardians of the Galaxy intercepted an Asgardian distress signal and picked up the God of Thunder.
With a little help from Gunn and Taika Waititi, directors Joe and Anthony Russo were able to make Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Pratt's Peter Quill/Star-Lord, and the other Guardians a comedic hit of both Infinity War and Endgame. The latter film ends with Thor deciding to be "who he is rather than who he's supposed to be," which means hitching a ride aboard the Benatar with the "Asgardians of the Galaxy." Ahead of Gunn's third installment in his MCU franchise, the Guardians return in Waititi's highly-anticipated sequel to Thor: Ragnarok, Love and Thunder—which Gunn consulted on for the sake of MCU continuity. Now, it's seemingly been revealed that a pair of Asgardian characters will also appear in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which is confirmed to take place after Love and Thunder and before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
In an interview at the premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder (via Marvel Entertainment), Pratt was asked about Thor's goats in the film. The actor revealed that Gunn also had to include them in his next Guardians project for the sake of continuity. Read what he had to say below:
[Waititi] just wanted to stick James with some goats. James has to pick up where Taika left off, and he stuck us with some space goats."
Typically [MCU directors don’t stick each other with stuff in the background], but I guess Taika kind of plays by his own set of rules...you’ll see there’s a few things that he did that I think was kind of an inside joke to play on James. It’s a bit of that sort of improv world where you see what you can roll with.
Love and Thunder's promotional material shows a Viking ship towed by Thor's goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr. The pair originates from the comics and Norse mythology, where they pulled Thor's chariot through the sky. While Pratt doesn't specifically mention Diseny+'s Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, it's more than likely what he's talking about, given the MCU timeline. Gunn has teased that the special will feature surprise MCU characters, and it's not hard to imagine Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr pulling Santa's sleigh. Trailers tease the Guardians will only appear at the beginning of Love and Thunder. However, the supposed inclusion of Thor's goats in the next Guardians of the Galaxy project implies they somehow get stuck with them following the fight with Gorr the God Butcher.
Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr were actually pitched to Marvel Studios for the first Thor film but were deemed too weird back in 2009. However, that was before Gunn revolutionized the MCU with his rag-tag team of misfits, and Waititi somehow made Thor one of the universe's funniest characters. The irreverent writers/directors were almost born to collaborate, with Waititi appearing in The Suicide Squad and Gunn having to make use of screaming "space goats" after Thor: Love and Thunder releases in theaters on July 8.
Source: Marvel Entertainment
