Marvel did manage to keep things under wraps as far as “Thor: Love and Thunder” is concerned. No leaks save for two or three photos of Christian Bale as Gorr from the sets, but that didn’t serve as the end result as we see in the trailer. We also get a glimpse of Russell Crowe as Zeus and a better view of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster as Lady Thor, or just Thor. The film will also provide Chris Hemsworth’s Thor with dedicated headgear for the first time in the MCU. Here’s more.
Space Viking
After three years, Thor Odinson is back in his muscular form, thanks to yoga and bodybuilding. He is back in shape and, from the looks of it, has borrowed some of Starlord’s fashion sense. We also see him donning his new 80s-inspired blue and gold suit with golden headgear. Mjolnir is also back, but we have to wait to see how it reformed after being destroyed by Hela- Goddess of Death in “Thor: Ragnarok.”
Thor’s journey will likely take him to Mount Olympus, where he will meet Russell Crowe’s Zeus, whose face we also see in the trailer. There is a scene where Thor is fighting Olympus’s warriors inside a ring. So for whatever reason he went there, he will have to prove himself “worthy” yet again before presenting his views.
The Old Ex-Girlfriend
Jane Foster looks glamorous in her new Thor costume and headgear. The amount of effort Portman put into getting into proper shape for her role is evident. The last time we saw her was in “Thor: The Dark World” and then in a deleted scene from “Avengers: Endgame.”
She is the one who will wield the Mjolnir now. How? We don’t know yet. But a lot of time has passed since we last saw her. Something must have happened. Or, she might prove worthy of lifting the hammer in the film itself. But now that we have Thor and Lady Thor, we can expect some double-team fights just like Tony and Pepper in “Avengers: Infinity War.”
All Gods Will Die
Finally, we arrive at the best thing about “Thor: Love and Thunder,” i.e., the new villain, Gorr the God Butcher. Taika Waititi raised the stakes of scary villains in the MCU with Gorr. And with Christian Bale’s talent for imbibing his characters down to their cellular level, there is no doubt that he will smash the role. He appears menacing and terrifying. As to why Gorr wants all gods to die, the reason is quite justified. He lost his wife and children to the harsh environment of his home planet, despite praying fervently to the gods. Later on, he was also forced to leave his society for not believing in gods. And finally, after killing a fallen god, he took the vow that “all gods will die.”
We get one clear glimpse of his weapon, the legendary All-Black, the Necrosword, which is basically the first symbiote created by Knull, the god of symbiotes. He is the one who passed the sword to Gorr, and it is one of the most powerful weapons in the Marvel universe. This is evident when we see Bale’s Gorr destroy a whole planet with it in the trailer. So, Stormbreaker finally has a match.
Interestingly, we see Thor in two different hairstyles, one where his hair is parted (the jacket one) and another where his hair is pulled back (the Thor suit one). We do not know if these two are one and the same. The reason we say this is that in the comics, it took three Thors from three different timelines to defeat Gorr. And one of them was a 9th-century Viking, much like the one Korg mentions (the space Viking), i.e., the one with the parted hair. The other two versions were of Thor from the Avengers and of another ancient Thor ruling Asgard. So, it could be that we get to see two different Thors, at least, if not three.
“Thor: Love and Thunder” releases exclusively in theaters on July 8. It stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, AKA Lady Thor, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Taika Waititi as Korg, Russell Crowe as Zeus, and Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher.
