Why Thor: Love & Thunder Is So Obsessed With Guns 'N' Roses

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor: Love and Thunder has an obsession with 80s rock band Guns 'N' Roses and there are several good reasons why. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, and Tessa Thompson, director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) ushers in another entry of the God of Thunder's solo series with a rock-heavy soundtrack and love-themed tale replete with his signature style and humor. The director has frequently made strong use of popular music to punctuate his films and Thor: Love and Thunder is no different in that regard.

Thor: Ragnarok toyed with using a particular song in both the marketing and the final film, which was Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", which was used in early trailers and in the final moments of the film. His prior film to Ragnarok, JoJo Rabbit, used David Bowie's "Heroes", while his film and TV show versions of What We Do In The Shadows uses Norma Tanega's "You're Dead" prominently. For Thor: Love and Thunder, Waititi used Guns 'N' Roses "Sweet Child 'O' Mine" throughout marketing, as well as in the film, which has a much deeper meaning by the end of the film.

In addition to "Sweet Child O' Mine", Waititi uses three more Guns 'N' Roses songs in the Thor: Love and Thunder soundtrack, including "Paradise City" when introducing New Asgard, "Welcome To The Jungle" during the opening battle between Thor/Guardians of the Galaxy and a group of owl-like alien creatures. The final song used at the end of Thor: Love and Thunder is "November Rain" which unfolds in guitar solo format as Thor Odinson, The Mighty Thor, and the children of Asgard battle Gorr The God Butcher. A more blatant Guns 'N' Roses nod in the film is Heimdall's son renaming himself Axl (per the band's lead singer Axl Rose), wearing a GNR T-shirt, and having GNR posters on his wall. The obsession ultimately comes down to Guns 'N' Roses' music representing the journey of the main players and the movie's themes that the songs emulate so well.

Why Guns N Roses Means So Much In Thor: Love & Thunder

Thor: Love and Thunder ends on "Sweet Child O' Mine" which relates to Thor becoming the guardian of Gorr's resurrected daughter, proving both of them to be the titular "Love and Thunder" of the film. The lyrics of the song help tie this connection together, particularly "And pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by" and "Sweet love of mine" which nods to both Thor and Gorr's daughter. While "Paradise City" and "Welcome to the Jungle" are more literal than figurative in their use for Thor: Love and Thunder, the use of "November Rain" at the end battle makes for a perfect tune to fit the moment. Thor shares his power with the Asgardian children and is then rescued by Jane Foster's Mighty Thor, who essentially sacrifices her life for him, likening to the lyric of "Nothin' lasts forever" in the song. One of the song's key repeating lyrics is "Everybody needs somebody" and "You're not the only one" which relates to Thor empowering the Asgardian children and Jane coming to Thor's rescue, showing that even he needs somebody.

Thor: Love & Thunder Copies Iron Man 2's Best Soundtrack Trick

In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark used Australian rock band AC/DC as his theme music, setting a tone for the kind of rock and roll style that he lived by. The frequent use of the band's music made for a stronger, more identifiable theme for Iron Man than a standard thematic score, making it a part of his overall persona. In Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor Odinson is carried by Guns 'N' Roses throughout the film, making each needle drop a part of his new journey, down to the rock and roll aesthetic and the song choices. While there's plenty of ambiguity in linking the songs and lyrics of the Guns 'N' Roses songs used in Thor: Love and Thunder, as well as AC/DC's songs in Iron Man 2, the use of each rock band's music fits the overall themes and moments in the individual films perfectly.

Next: How Scary & Violent Is Thor: Love & Thunder?

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