Thor: Love and Thunder is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is intended to be the direct sequel to Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and the 29th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Taika Waititi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, alongside Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Chris Pratt, Jaimie Alexander, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, and Jeff Goldblum.
Hemsworth and Waititi had discussed returning for a sequel to Ragnarok by January 2018. It was officially announced and titled in July 2019, with the pair attached alongside Thompson and Portman; the latter agreed to return to the franchise, after not appearing in Ragnarok, when Waititi revealed plans to adapt the Mighty Thor comic books in which Portman's character Jane Foster takes on the mantle and powers of Thor after suffering from cancer. Robinson joined the film in February 2020, with Waititi later describing it as a romance film. Filming began in January 2021 in Sydney, Australia, and will conclude that May.
Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 6, 2022, as part of Phase Four of the MCU.
Cast
- Chris Hemsworth as Thor:
An Avenger and the former king of Asgard, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name.[1] - Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie:
The king of New Asgard, based on the mythological being Brynhildr.[1][2] Thompson and producer Kevin Feige said the character's bisexuality would be addressed with this appearance, retroactively making her Marvel Studios' first LGBTQ superhero.[3][4] - Natalie Portman as Jane Foster / Mighty Thor:
An astrophysicist and Thor's ex-girlfriend who is undergoing cancer treatment while becoming the superhero the Mighty Thor and gaining similar powers to Thor.[1][5][6] Portman, who did not appear in the franchise's previous film Thor: Ragnarok (2017), agreed to return after a meeting with director Taika Waititi.[7] - Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher[8]
- Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord: The half-human, half-Celestial leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy who was abducted from Earth as a child and raised by a group of alien thieves and smugglers called the Ravagers.[9]
- Jaimie Alexander as Sif: An Asgardian warrior and Thor's childhood friend, based on the deity of the same name.[10]
- Pom Klementieff as Mantis: A member of the Guardians with empathic powers.[11]
- Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer: A member of the Guardians and highly skilled warrior whose family was slaughtered by Thanos.[12]
- Karen Gillan as Nebula: A member of the Guardians who is an orphan from an alien world, and was trained by Thanos to be his personal assassin.[12]
- Sean Gunn as Kraglin Obfonteri: Yondu Udonta's former second-in-command in the Ravagers and an ally of the Guardians who uses a cybernetic headpiece to control his Yaka Arrow.[13]
- Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster: An Elder of the Universe who ruled the planet Sakaar.[14]
Additionally, Waititi reprises his role as Korg, a Kronan gladiator who befriended Thor.[15] Matt Damon, Sam Neill, and Luke Hemsworth also reprise their roles as Asgardian actors playing Loki, Odin, and Thor, respectively, from Thor: Ragnarok, alongside Melissa McCarthy as an actress playing Hela and Ben Falcone in an undisclosed role.[16] Russell Crowe also has a cameo appearance as Zeus, the king of the Olympians, based on the Greek mythological deity of the same name.[17][18]
Production
Chris Hemsworth indicated in January 2018 that he was interested in continuing to play Thor, despite his contract with Marvel Studios being set to end with his role in Avengers: Endgame (2019).[19] By then, Hemsworth and Thor: Ragnarok (2017) director Taika Waititi had discussed what they would want in a potential fourth film,[20] and the next month Hemsworth said he would consider playing the character again if there was "another great script".[21] In April 2019, Tessa Thompson, who plays Valkyrie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films, said that she believed a pitch had been made for a sequel to Ragnarok that involved Waititi returning.[22] Hemsworth stated then that he would continue to play Thor for as long as he could, crediting Waititi with revitalizing his interest in the role after he became exhausted and underwhelmed with it prior to making Ragnarok.[23]
In July 2019, Waititi officially signed on to write and direct a fourth Thor film, with Hemsworth expected to reprise his role.[24] Later that month at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige officially announced the film as Thor: Love and Thunder, with a release date of November 5, 2021. Hemsworth and Thompson were confirmed to be returning along with Natalie Portman, who portrayed Jane Foster in Thor (2011) and Thor: The Dark World (2013).[1] Thompson and Feige said Valkyrie's bisexuality would be addressed in the sequel, retroactively making her Marvel Studios' first LGBTQ superhero.[3][4] Waititi said the film would adapt elements from Jason Aaron's Mighty Thor comic books by having Foster become her own version of Thor called the Mighty Thor.[1][6] Feige explained that Marvel considered the Mighty Thor run to be one of the best recent comic books and Waititi had been reading it while working on Ragnarok. When Waititi agreed to direct another Thor film, he wanted to include Foster as the Mighty Thor.[7] Portman agreed to return to the franchise after a single meeting with the director, in which he interested her by offering to reprise the character in a different, fresh way.[25][7]
Don Harwin, the Minister for the Arts for the Australian state of New South Wales, announced at the end of July that Thor: Love and Thunder would be filmed at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney back-to-back with Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), with work set to begin on Love and Thunder there in March 2020 ahead of an August 2020 filming start. The production was set to receive over AU$24 million (US$17 million) of subsidies from the Australian and New South Wales governments. Marvel Studios vice president David Grant said shooting the two films back-to-back would provide continuous employment for local crews, with Love and Thunder expected to generate over AU$178 million (US$127 million) for the local economy. Grant added that the studio would work with "local educational institutions in creating internship opportunities".[26] In August 2019, Jeff Goldblum said there was a chance he could reprise his Ragnarok role of the Grandmaster in the sequel and he wanted to work with Waititi again.[27] Waititi confirmed in October that he would be reprising his role of Korg from Ragnarok and Endgame in Love and Thunder.[15] He also acknowledged fans "shipping" Valkyrie with Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel but said he did not intend to include a romantic relationship between the pair in the film because he would rather surprise fans than do something by popular demand.[28]
Christian Bale entered talks to join the cast in January 2020,[29] with pre-production expected to begin in April.[30] Jennifer Kaytin Robinson was hired to work on the film's screenplay with Waititi in February.[31] Thompson confirmed a month later that Bale would star as the villain in the film,[2] while Vin Diesel, who voices Groot in the MCU films, said he had discussed the film with Waititi and had been told the Guardians of the Galaxy would be appearing in it.[32] In early April, Disney shifted much of their Phase Four slate of films due to the COVID-19 pandemic, moving Thor: Love and Thunder's release date to February 18, 2022.[33] Pre-production on the film was delayed due to the pandemic, with Waititi unsure when production would continue.[34] At the end of the month, Disney moved the release date up to February 11, 2022.[35] By July, filming was set to start in early 2021.[36]
Writing
When announcing the film in July 2019, Feige said it would include a lot of elements from the Mighty Thor comic book and the storyline of Foster becoming the Mighty Thor would be an important part of that.[7][6] A month later, Waititi was reported to have completed a script for the film,[37] but he denied this in August.[38] While promoting his film Jojo Rabbit in October, Waititi said he had completed the first draft of the screenplay,[39] but the story would change throughout filming and editing. He was unsure at that point if the film would include a storyline in which Foster suffers from breast cancer as she does in the Mighty Thor comic book, noting that it was a powerful part of the books.[40] Portman later said Foster's treatment from cancer would be explored in the film.[5] Waititi added that Marvel was still discussing how much time would pass between Endgame and Love and Thunder, and that this would affect whether Thor is still carrying the extra weight he is depicted with in Endgame, which earned him the nicknames "Fat Thor" and "Bro Thor". Waititi did note that he wanted to "keep changing it up with Thor. He's so interesting when he's changing all the time."[39]
Four or five drafts of the screenplay had been completed by mid-April 2020,[34] when Waititi said the sequel was "so over the top now in the very best way" and would make Ragnarok look like a "run of the mill, very safe film" by doubling down on the crazier aspects of that film.[34][28] He wanted to up the ante and make the film as if "10-year-olds told us what should be in a movie and we said yes to every single thing." Waititi added that the film would explore more of Korg's Kronan culture and indicated that it would include the Space Sharks alien race from the comics. He also expressed interest in featuring the character Beta Ray Bill in the film, but said "I just don't know right now, things are a bit up in the air."[34] At the end of July, Waititi said they had been writing the script off and on for over a year at that point, and he was taking another pass on it that week. He said the script was very romantic, and explained that he wanted to make a romance film because he wanted to make something that he had not done before.[41][36] That October, Hemsworth said Waititi was still writing the script and he expressed his excitement for doing something drastically different with his character as he did in his previous three MCU films.[42]
James Gunn, the writer and director of the three Guardians of the Galaxy films, consulted on how the Guardians characters were used in Love and Thunder,[43] with Gunn and Waititi discussing where the characters were going before Waititi began writing, and Waititi reading Gunn's script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). Gunn then read Waititi's Love and Thunder script and shared his thoughts.[44] In January 2021, Gunn stated that the Guardians were in great hands with Waititi.[43]
Release
Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 6, 2022.[8] It was previously set for release on November 5, 2021,[1] but was delayed to February 18, 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[33] before being moved up a week to February 11 once Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was rescheduled from November 2021 to March 2022.[35] It was delayed once again to the May 2022 date in December 2020.[8] It will be part of Phase Four of the MCU.[60]
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