A Brand New, Technicolor Look at 'Thor: Love and Thunder'
Marvel Studios has released a brand new trailer for the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder. The world of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is once again brought to us by visionary director, Taika Waititi, who previously directed Thor: Ragnarok in 2017. This latest installment of the God of Thunder’s journey is meant to be a direct sequel to Ragnarok and picks up after the events of Avengers: Endgame.
Thor is on a journey of self-discovery and is tirelessly working to go from “dad-bod” to “god-bod.” After all, he’s desperate to be reunited with his trusty hammer, Mjölnir. However, it comes as a complete surprise that the title of Mighty Thor belongs to someone else now. Namely, Thor’s ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). It’s been eight years, seven months and six days since they’ve seen each other and Thor is not handling it nearly as well as Jane.
Thor: Love and Thunder isn’t all fun and games, though. Jane and Thor’s reunion is interrupted by the emergence of renowned, galactic killer Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale). As the name implies, Gorr wants to kill the Gods because he believes they only care about themselves. He vows that “all Gods will die” by his hand.
Thor and Jane don’t have to face Gorr alone. Joining them in their quest is King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and Korg (Taika Waititi). Though not prominently featured in this trailer, members of the Guardians of the Galaxy seem to be aiding Thor in his fight against the God Butcher. Gorr’s motives aren’t obvious yet, so fans will have to wait for the film to be released for a deeper look at his quest for vengeance.
Thor, Jane, and Valkyrie’s cosmic journey also brings them to Olympus. This new trailer is also the first real look at Russell Crowe as Zeus, ruler of Olympus. How Zeus will play into the battle against Gorr remains unclear, but the brief glimpse we get of Thor in Olympus is…revealing to say the least.
When Thor: Ragnarok premiered in 2017, it was heralded as a new, exciting style for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Where the Captain America, Iron Man, and, to a lesser extent, the Guardians of the Galaxy movies were all muted, Ragnarok was Technicolor. That’s thanks largely in part to writer/director Waititi’s creativity.
From the trailers and the new poster, it’s apparent that Waititi is doubling down on the bold style that caused Ragnarok to stand out. However, he’s adamant that Love and Thunder will not be a rehash of his previous movie. Instead, Waititi has said that he wanted to make Love and Thunder a romance movie that harkens back to the adventure films of the 1980s. That influence is evident in Thor’s cutoff vest with the popped collar, the distinct font of the title cards, and, of course, “Sweet Child o' Mine” as the trailer song.
After the recent success of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it seems like Marvel is ready to take some bigger swings in terms of stylistic approach to its beloved characters. We can only hope that Waititi’s return to Thor: Love and Thunder will be just as dazzling as what came before.