Thor: Love and Thunder

Did You Know?

• Michael Giacchino scored the film, having previously scored Doctor Strange (2016) and the MCU Spider-Man trilogy.
• The single 'Mama's Got a Brand New Hammer', the film's main suite, was released on June 30, 2022.
• The film features the song 'Rainbow in the Dark' by Dio.

Plot

Gorr and his daughter Love were the final survivors of their species, struggling to survive in a lifeless desert. Love died despite their pleas to their god, Rapu. A blade called the Necrosword, which was designed to kill gods, then summoned Gorr to Rapu's verdant domain. When Rapo mocked Gorr's suffering and dismissed him, Gorr renounced his god. Rapu began choking him, and the Necrosword offered itself to Gorr. He used it to kill Rapu and swore to eliminate every god. The sword gave Gorr power over shadows and the ability to create monsters, but it also cursed him with a fatal corruption and an approaching death. After the Avengers fought Thanos, Thor joined the Guardians of the Galaxy. He received a distress call from Sif, left the Guardians, and found her wounded. Sif told him Gorr would attack New Asgard next. Meanwhile, Thor's former girlfriend, Dr. Jane Foster, had terminal stage four cancer. Standard treatments failed, so she went to New Asgard hoping Mjolnir, Thor's hammer that Hela had broken, might heal her. Years earlier, Thor had unknowingly placed an enchantment on Mjolnir to protect Foster, so the hammer reformed and attached itself to her. Thor arrived in New Asgard as Gorr launched his attack. He was shocked to see Foster wielding Mjolnir but fought alongside her, Valkyrie, and Korg. They stopped Gorr temporarily, but he fled after kidnapping many Asgardian children and trapping them in the Shadow Realm. The group went to Omnipotence City to alert the other gods and request an army. Zeus, the gods' leader, refused to help and ordered them captured. When Zeus hurt Korg, Thor stabbed Zeus with his own thunderbolt. Valkyrie took the bolt, and they escaped to face Gorr in the Shadow Realm. During the journey, Thor learned about Foster's cancer.

Cast

Chris Hemsworth plays Thor, a founding Avenger and the former ruler of Asgard. According to director Taika Waititi, Thor is experiencing a midlife crisis, trying to understand his purpose and whether he should even be a hero. A large tattoo on Thor’s back serves as a memorial for his deceased family and friends. Hemsworth’s twin sons, Sasha and Tristan, appear as a young Thor. Christian Bale portrays Gorr the God Butcher, a scarred figure who wields the Necrosword and controls shadows, aiming to wipe out all gods. Waititi called Gorr highly formidable and layered. Bale described the character as having a slight Nosferatu vibe and drew inspiration from the Aphex Twin song “Come to Daddy” (1997). Waititi changed Gorr’s facial features because his comic-book look resembled Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter. Odd Studio handled Gorr’s practical makeup. Tessa Thompson plays Valkyrie, the king of New Asgard. Thompson and producer Kevin Feige confirmed the film would address the character’s bisexuality. Waititi noted that Valkyrie must adapt to the bureaucratic side of ruling, including managing infrastructure, the economy, and hosting foreign delegates. Jaimie Alexander appears as Sif, an Asgardian warrior and Thor’s childhood friend. Taika Waititi plays Korg, a Kronan gladiator who befriended Thor, and also voices the Kronan god Ninny of the Nonny. Russell Crowe portrays Zeus, king of the Olympians. Crowe wanted to use a Greek accent, but Waititi thought it might be too silly, so Crowe performed takes in both Greek and British accents—the British one similar to his Gladiator character Maximus Decimus Meridius. Waititi ultimately agreed with Crowe and used the Greek accent in the final film.

Production

Shortly after the release of Thor: Ragnarok in November 2017, director Taika Waititi and Marvel Studios executives met to discuss ideas for another film, which was green-lit following positive responses to Ragnarok. Chris Hemsworth indicated in January 2018 he was interested in continuing to play Thor despite his contract ending with Avengers: Endgame (2019). By then, Hemsworth and Waititi had discussed what they would want in a potential fourth Thor film. In July 2019, Waititi officially signed on to write and direct a fourth Thor film. He was not interested in repeating Ragnarok, instead wanting to do something more interesting to keep himself creatively stimulated. At San Diego Comic-Con that month, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced the film as Thor: Love and Thunder with a release date of November 5, 2021. Hemsworth and Thompson were confirmed returning along with Natalie Portman, reprising her role of Jane Foster. Hemsworth, who also served as an executive producer, was paid $20 million upfront for the film. Portman agreed to return after her character was not included in Ragnarok, following a single meeting with Waititi, who offered to portray the character in a different and fresh way. Thompson and Feige added that Valkyrie's bisexuality would be addressed in the sequel, retroactively making her Marvel Studios' first LGBTQ superhero. Production was expected to begin in late 2020 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming began in January 2021 in Sydney, Australia with Barry Idoine as director of photography, and concluded at the beginning of June.

Reception

Thor: Love and Thunder brought in $343.3 million domestically and $417.7 million internationally, adding up to $760.9 million worldwide. That made it the eighth highest-grossing film of 2022. Its global opening weekend hit $303.3 million, with IMAX screenings accounting for $23 million of that. Deadline Hollywood estimated the movie’s net profit at $103 million. In the U.S. and Canada, early projections put its opening weekend between $140 million and $167 million across 4,375 theaters. The film’s first day pulled in $69.5 million, including $29 million from Thursday previews. That opening weekend total of $144.2 million set a new record for the Thor series and ranked as the twelfth biggest MCU debut. The second weekend saw a steep 68% drop to $46.6 million, one of the largest sophomore falls in MCU history. Deadline linked that decline to the film’s CinemaScore and its mixed critical and audience reception. By its third weekend, Love and Thunder earned $22.6 million, landing in second place behind Nope.