Everything About Thor: Love And Thunder Is More Exciting Than Thor Himself

Even though Thor is in the movie’s title, the most exciting parts of Thor: Love and Thunder have nothing to do with Chris Hemsworth’s character. After Thor: Ragnarok surpassed all expectations, many fans unimpressed with Thor and Thor: Dark World suddenly found themselves asking why is Thor so good. The sudden reversal of the Thor franchise's popularity in the MCU was the fresh creative direction, which Thor: Love and Thunder continues by reuniting Hemsworth with Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi. Ragnarok is largely recognized for breathing much-needed new life into the Thor franchise, and Waititi and Hemsworth will look to keep that going in the upcoming movie. So far, all indications are that it will be bigger and better, with the first footage highlighting many points of interest.

Thor: Love and Thunder hit theaters in July 2022, and there was a lot of advance footage in the form of trailers and sneak-peeks before release. Hemsworth has teased that Thor will be his strongest yet in the movie, and the cartoonishly big arms he's showed off in BTS photos and the official trailer make that statement hard to argue with. The God of Thunder is taking a new approach to life in Thor: Love and Thunder. Having shed Fat Thor's emotional and physical weight, he's now focusing on self-improvement, peace, and love. While this new direction for Thor should be pretty interesting. However, there's plenty more to be excited about in Thor: Love and Thunder beside the titular Odinson.

Although Thor: Love and Thunder is technically about Thor, the film is packed with so many other compelling points that he might take a backseat. Love and Thunder will see Valkyrie become an Asgardian ruler with an LGBTQ+ storyline, for example. That's far from the only potential attention-grabbing highlight though. Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher is hyped as one of the best MCU villains yet, Russell Crowe's Zeus and the Olympians make their debut, and Natalie Portman's Jane Foster finally takes up the Thor mantle. Some of the best Thor supporting characters are also set to make appearances, including Darcy (Kat Dennings) and Korg (voiced by Waititi). Given all this, Thor himself could be the least exciting part of Thor: Love and Thunder.

Who Will Upstage Thor In Love And Thunder?

Thor love and thunder poster highlights biggest problem too much jane foster korg valkyrie

Thor: Love and Thunder has an ensemble cast packed with new and returning characters, most of whom have the potential to outshine the God of Thunder. The Guardians of the Galaxy, who teamed up with Thor to face Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, will feature and be relevant to the plot. Trailers contained extensive footage of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel as a CGI tree). The Guardians alone would be enough to draw attention from Thor, even without Gamora (Zoe Saldaña). They're not the only character in Love and Thunder fans are excited to see, however. Oscar-winner Natalie Portman is set to return as Jane Foster, Thor’s one-time love interest, except now she's wielding Mjolnir and is a Thor herself. Russell Crowe is bringing the MCU's Zeus to life, and Christian Bale is set to play one of the most complex MCU villains yet - Gorr the God Butcher. In addition, Matt Damon, who played a thespian portraying Loki in Ragnarok, is also back for another cameo. In every way, the impressive cast and story seem to be shoving Thor into the background.

More than twenty films in, it'd be easy for Marvel to simply repeat what's been working, but Thor: Love and Thunder is allowing the MCU to break new ground. Portman’s Jane Foster is set to transform into Mighty Thor in the film, possibly overcoming cancer and becoming the first female hero to wield Mjölnir. Beyond that, Tessa Thompson revealed that her character, Valkyrie, arguably the first LGBTQ+ hero in the MCU, would be looking for her queen. With LGBTQ+ stories largely existing only between the lines of the MCU thus far, Valkyrie’s storyline could be an important (and attention-grabbing) step forward. The trailers indicate that the stories of Valkyrie and Jane will be just as important as whatever Thor himself is up to, suggesting that Thor: Love and Thunder might be less of a Thor-centric Thor movie than previous installments. There's also the chance, of course, that the titular Thor here isn't even the Odinson, but Jane Foster.

At this point, Thor—as well as Hemsworth's massive arms—don't seem to have much room left to grow. He’s already gone through a full arc across multiple MCU movies. Thor started out arrogant and entitled in 2011’s Thor, gained some humility in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, and passed on the throne of Asgard to Valkyrie in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Footage for Love and Thunder has revealed Thor is walking away from super-heroing to find himself and do some personal growth. This is another movie about Thor growing up and maturing, something audiences have been watching him do since 2011. Sooner or later it will wear thin. With Tony Stark dead and Steve Rogers living his best old-man life after Endgame, Thor is the last Phase One Avenger with a pre-Disney+ solo franchise still in the MCU (Bruce Banner in Edward Norton's 2008 The Incredible Hulk notwithstanding). Hemsworth has been in the role for over a decade. Thor Odinson might be overshadowed by other characters in Thor: Love and Thunder, and if he is, a reason may simply be that the MCU needs a new Thor for Phase 4. If Marvel Studios recognize this, there's even a possibility that both Thors aren't standing by the end of Love and Thunder.

Love And Thunder Provides Two Completely New Thors

Natalie Portman as Jane Foster Mighty Thor In Thor Love and Thunder Trailer

As previously mentioned, Thor: Love and Thunder will see the debut of a completely new Thor character: Jane Foster's Mighty Thor, played by returning Thor actress Natalie Portman. Not only is Jane back, but she's wielding a familiar weapon all Thor fans will recognize - Mjolnir, the Odinson's own hammer. There's been extensive footage of Jane throwing lightning, fighting Gorr, and doing all manner of other Thor-related activities. After bait-and-switches like Evan Peter's "Quicksilver" showing up in Wandavision, there was worry that stills of Foster's Thor could be a misdirection. The chances of this actually being the case were always unlikely, as Marvel Studios are no doubt aware of how controversial the Ralph Bohner Wandavision "twist" was. Still, many fans expressed relief when it was confirmed Jane Foster will be a Thor in Love and Thunder, and the stills weren't from a scene where Jane dresses as Thor for a costume party or something similar.

While this is one more reason to assume that Thor Odinson will take a backseat in Thor: Love and Thunder, it also indicates the franchise coming full circle, which could actually complement Thor's own arc nicely. The other new Thor clearly emphasized in Love and Thunder is Hemsworth's character himself; having gone through yet another transformation after his time as Fat Thor, Odinson's new iteration is once again totally different than those that have come before. Not quite Party Thor from What If...?, this new Thor is nonetheless much more casual and at ease, and feels almost like a totally new character. Coupled with the trailer's opening sequence showing Thor's different stages of growing up, this seems like a strong indication that Thor: Love and Thunder will bring a meaningful conclusion, or at least good progress, to Thor's long, fraught MCU arc. Ultimately, then, Thor himself could still be a very compelling element of Thor: Love and Thunder's story.

Thor 4's New Villain Already Has More Attention Than Thor

Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher in Thor Love and Thunder

Christian Bale will be joining the star-studded list of MCU alumni in Thor: Love and Thunder as the movie's villain, Gorr the God Butcher. Anticipation was high about Gorr coming to the MCU, as he's one of Marvel Comics' more interesting and dangerous characters. Even before the first looks at Bale's Gorr were released, reports from the Thor: Love and Thunder set consistently insinuated that the MCU was about to get one of its most complex, compelling, and relatable villains so far. Then, trailers showing Bale's absolutely terrifying Gorr the God Butcher hit, and the brief glimpses of Gorr were enough to justify the clear departures from his look in the source material. Even though there's only been a few minutes seen of the God Butcher, it's clear he's going to be one of the most memorable villains in the MCU.

The former Dark Knight is renowned for his acting ability, especially in character-driven roles. With Gorr, Christian Bale has used his considerable range to flex his uncanny propensity for bringing unsettling characters to life. Unless Marvel has cherry-picked the only good Gorr scenes for the trailers, it's pretty clear that Bale has delivered. There's been much more discussion about Gorr the God Butcher, Bale's performance and makeup, and Gorr's weapon All Black the Necrosword than there's been about Thor Odinson. Thor might have new armor and do a ton of character growth in Thor: Love and Thunder, but, if the pre-release buzz is anything to go by, it's the incredibly creepy god-slaying Gorr that will steal the show.

Korg is Back

thor 4 Korg tells story to alien species

Fan favorite Korg was introduced in Thor: Ragnarok and is voiced by Taika Waititi, who directed both Ragnarok and Love and Thunder. Korg was one of Ragnarok's breakout characters, one based on a Marvel Comics character but given a completely new personality and origin. He resonated with fans much more than Marvel Studios anticipated, and his "freaky circle" observation is perhaps one of the funniest lines in Ragnarok (which is saying a lot, since it's easily the most comedically-accomplished MCU entry). It's no surprise that for the next Thor movie, Korg has been elevated to a more prominent position. Korg is the voiceover for many of the trailers, and several open with shots of Korg regaling tales of Thor's adventures to a cave of grey-skinned alien children. It's very likely that this VO is taken from the movie and not recorded just for the trailers. Ragnarok's Korg easily upstaged Thor in their last outing, and he could easily use the extra screentime to do it again here.

Ultimately though, even if Thor is outshone in Thor: Love and Thunder, this will be a good thing for fans. There are many reasons Thor might be upstaged in his own movie, and none of them are Chris Hemsworth. He continues to be amazing in the role of Thor Odinson and remains a fan favorite. As Infinity War and Endgame showed, Thor still takes center stage in ensemble settings outside his own franchise. Thor being the least interesting thing in Love and Thunder doesn't mean Thor is a boring character – only that the larger-than-life world Waititi has built around him is now too big for the Thunder God to fill alone. It's this world that's made Thor 4 2022's most exciting MCU movie. It's so vibrant, colorful, and outrageous at points that even the most bombastic and reckless Avenger gets lost in the mile-a-minute storytelling, riotous colors, and thumping '80s-inspired soundtrack. If fans come out of Thor: Love and Thunder talking about everything but Thor, it isn't a sign that the God of Thunder's gone stale. It just means he's a 10/10 character in a movie where everything else has been turned up to 11.

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