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Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor: Love and Thunder is a 2022 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Thor. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and the 29th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Taika Waititi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor alongside Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Waititi, Russell Crowe, and Natalie Portman. In the film, Thor tries to find inner peace, but must return to action and recruit Valkyrie (Thompson), Korg (Waititi), and Jane Foster (Portman)—who is now the Mighty Thor—to stop Gorr the God Butcher (Bale) from eliminating all gods.

Plot
Gorr and his daughter, Love, the last of their race, struggle in a barren desert. Despite their prayers to their god, Rapu, Love dies. The god-killing Necrosword calls to Gorr, leading him to Rapu's lush realm. After Rapu cruelly mocks and dismisses Gorr's plight, he renounces the god, causing Rapu to start strangling him. The Necrosword offers itself to Gorr, who kills Rapu with it and vows to kill all gods. Gorr is granted the ability to manipulate shadows and produce monsters but is cursed with impending death and corruption under the sword's influence. Thor has joined the Guardians of the Galaxy after the Avengers' battle against Thanos. He learns of a distress signal from Sif, so he parts ways with the team. He finds an injured Sif, who warns that Gorr's next target is New Asgard. Meanwhile, Dr. Jane Foster, Thor's ex-girlfriend, has been diagnosed with stage four terminal cancer. With medical treatment proving ineffective, she travels to New Asgard hoping that Thor's hammer Mjolnir, which was previously fractured by Hela, might heal her. Due to an enchantment Thor unknowingly placed on it years earlier to protect Foster, Mjolnir reforges and bonds itself to her. Thor arrives in New Asgard just as Gorr's attack begins. Thor is surprised to find Foster wielding Mjolnir, but teams up with her, Valkyrie, and Korg to fight Gorr. The group thwarts Gorr, but he escapes, kidnapping numerous Asgardian children and imprisoning them in the Shadow Realm. The group travels to Omnipotence City to warn the other gods and ask for their help in creating an army. The leader of the gods, Zeus, is unwilling to help, thinking they can remain safe and hidden from Gorr in the city; he also believes that Gorr will not be able to achieve his stated goal of visiting the realm of Eternity, where he will be granted one wish, presumably to destroy all gods. As a security precaution, Zeus orders the group's capture to prevent them from exposing the city's location to Gorr. When Zeus injures Korg, Thor impales Zeus with his thunderbolt, which Valkyrie steals before they escape to confront Gorr in the Shadow Realm. On the way, Thor learns of Foster's cancer diagnosis. The group arrives at the Shadow Realm but are unable to locate the children. Foster sees ancient drawings that depict Thor's battle-axe Stormbreaker as a way to summon the Bifrost to enter Eternity, and deduces the trap laid out by Gorr. She throws away Stormbreaker to prevent Gorr from accessing it. However, Gorr overpowers the group and threatens to kill Foster, forcing Thor to summon it back. Gorr successfully steals Stormbreaker and injures Valkyrie before a weakened Foster collapses. Upon traveling back to New Asgard, Thor discovers that Foster's Thor form is not allowing her body to naturally fight the cancer. Due to this, Thor travels to Eternity's altar alone and using Zeus's thunderbolt, imbues the children with his power to fight Gorr's monsters while he battles Gorr. When Foster senses that Gorr is about to kill Thor, she joins the battle with Mjolnir to save him. They destroy the Necrosword, freeing Gorr from its influence, but the three are brought into Eternity's realm. With Gorr poised to make his wish, Thor implores Gorr to revive his daughter instead of destroying the gods. Thor then leaves Gorr to make his decision and attends to Foster, who succumbs to her illness and dies in his arms. Moved by their display, Gorr wishes for Eternity to revive Love, which it grants. As Gorr dies from the curse, he requests Thor to take care of Love. In the aftermath, the children return to New Asgard, where Valkyrie and Sif commence their training, and a monument is erected in Foster's memory. Thor adopts Love, who accompanies him in his heroics, with Thor wielding Mjolnir and Love wielding Stormbreaker. In a mid-credits scene, back in Omnipotence City, a recuperating Zeus sends his son Hercules to kill Thor as revenge. In a post-credits scene, Foster arrives at the gates of Valhalla, where Heimdall welcomes her. == Cast ==
Cast
Chris Hemsworth as Thor:A founding Avenger and the former king of Asgard, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name. Director Taika Waititi said that Thor is going through a midlife crisis in the film, as he is "just trying to figure out his purpose, trying to figure out exactly who he is and why he's a hero or whether he should be a hero". Thor has a large tattoo on his back that memorializes his family and friends that have previously died. Hemsworth's twin sons Sasha and Tristan portray Thor as a child. • Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher:A scarred wielder of the Necrosword and manipulator of shadows who seeks the extinction of the gods. Waititi described Gorr as being "very formidable" and layered. Bale felt the character had a "sort of a Nosferatu slight attitude", and took inspiration from the music video for the Aphex Twin song "Come to Daddy" (1997). Waititi opted to change Gorr's facial features in the film since his original look in the comics resembles Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter film series. Odd Studio created Gorr's practical makeup. • Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie:The king of New Asgard, based on the mythological being Brynhildr. Thompson and producer Kevin Feige said the character's bisexuality would be addressed in the film. Waititi said Valkyrie had to adjust to the bureaucratic aspects of ruling, away from the battlefield, such as dealing with the infrastructure and economy of New Asgard and hosting delegates from other countries. • Jaimie Alexander as Sif: An Asgardian warrior and Thor's childhood friend, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name. • Taika Waititi as Korg: A Kronan gladiator who befriended Thor. Waititi also voices the Kronan god Ninny of the Nonny. • Russell Crowe as Zeus:The king of the Olympians, based on the Greek mythological deity of the same name. Crowe wanted to perform the role in a Greek accent, but Waititi thought it would sound "too silly", so he had Crowe do takes in both a Greek and British accent, with Waititi suggesting the British accent be similar to the one Crowe used for Maximus Decimus Meridius in the film Gladiator (2000). Waititi finally concluded that Crowe was correct and used the Greek accent in the final film. • Natalie Portman as Jane Foster / Mighty Thor:An astrophysicist and Thor's ex-girlfriend who is undergoing cancer treatment and who gains powers to become the Mighty Thor by wielding a reconstructed Mjolnir, the hammer previously wielded by Thor. Portman, who did not appear in the previous film Thor: Ragnarok (2017), agreed to return after a meeting with Waititi, who said Foster's return to Thor's life after eight years would be a big adjustment for him since she has had another life without him. Waititi added that Foster showing up dressed like Thor would be a "real mindfuck" for him. In preparation for her role, Portman took the Mjolnir prop home to practice using it for her stunts. Additionally, the Guardians of the Galaxy are featured in the film, with Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper reprising their respective MCU roles as Peter Quill / Star-Lord, Nebula, Drax the Destroyer, Mantis, Kraglin Obfonteri, Groot, and Rocket. Matt Damon, Sam Neill, and Luke Hemsworth reprise their roles as Asgardian actors respectively playing Loki, Odin, and Thor from Ragnarok, with Melissa McCarthy joining them as an Asgardian actress playing Hela, and McCarthy's husband Ben Falcone as the stage manager. Miek, who previously appeared in Ragnarok and the film Avengers: Endgame (2019) via CGI, is voiced by Stephen Murdoch, while Carly Rees provides the motion capture performance for the character. Also returning from previous MCU media are Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgård as Foster's colleagues Darcy Lewis and Erik Selvig, respectively, and Idris Elba as Heimdall in the post-credits scene. Daley Pearson appears as New Asgard tour guide Darryl Jacobson, after first portraying the role in Marvel Studios' Team Thor (2016–2018) short film series. Archive footage from previous MCU films of Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Rene Russo as Frigga, Ray Stevenson as Volstagg, Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, and Zachary Levi as Fandral is featured at the beginning of the film. Chanique Greyling portrays a young Frigga during a flashback sequence. Deities introduced in the film include: Simon Russell Beale as the Olympian god Dionysus, based on the Greek mythological deity of the same name; Jonathan Brugh (who appeared as Deacon Brucke in Waititi's 2014 film What We Do in the Shadows) as Rapu, a god from Gorr's home planet who becomes his first victim; Akosia Sabet as Bast, a goddess who is a member of both the Heliopolitan and Wakandan pantheons, based on the Egyptian mythological deity Bastet; Kuni Hashimoto as the Japanese god Jademurai; Carmen Foon as the Roman goddess Minerva; and Stephen Hunter as the Fur God. Also appearing in the film are Kieron L. Dyer as Axl, Heimdall's son, Chris Hemsworth's daughter India Rose Hemsworth as Love, Gorr's daughter who is adopted by Thor, and Stephen Curry as Yakan, the ruler of the planet Indigarr. Cameos in the film include Bale, Portman, and Waititi's children as New Asgard children; Hemsworth's wife, Elsa Pataky, as the wolf woman who was one of Thor's past lovers; Indiana Evans as one of the Zeusettes; Jenny Morris as a New Asgard citizen; Chloé Gouneau as Foster's mother Elaine in a flashback sequence; Dave Cory as Dwayne, a Kronan who becomes Korg's partner in a romantic relationship; and Brett Goldstein as Zeus's son Hercules in the mid-credits scene. Jeff Goldblum and Peter Dinklage were both originally set to reprise their respective roles as Grandmaster from previous MCU media and Eitri from the film Avengers: Infinity War (2018), but their scenes were cut from the theatrical release. Lena Headey, Angus Sampson, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph were cast as a coven of witches, with their scene cut as well. == Production ==
Production
Development Shortly after the release of the third Thor film, Thor: Ragnarok, in November 2017, that film's director Taika Waititi and executives from Marvel Studios met to discuss ideas for another film, which was green-lit following the positive responses to Ragnarok. Additional photography for the film took place in early 2022. Storyboards by artist Anthony Lee Winn for Love and Thunder suggest that the characters Galactus, Fin Fang Foom, and Shuma-Gorath were also considered for inclusion in the film; Shuma-Gorath previously appeared in the MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) under the name Gargantos. Visual effects for the film were created by Wētā FX, Rising Sun Pictures, Framestore, Industrial Light & Magic, Method Studios, Luma Pictures, Raynault VFX, Base FX, EDI Effetti Digitali Italiani, Mammal Studios, Fin Design + Effects, and Cinesite. Matthew Schmidt, Peter S. Elliot, Tim Roche, and Jennifer Vecchiarello served as the film's editors, while Jake Morrison served as the visual effects supervisor. Perception designed the film's main-on-end title sequence, drawing inspiration from 1980s rock band logos and designing approximately 250 custom fonts for the sequence. == Music ==
Music
In December 2021, Michael Giacchino revealed that he would be scoring the film; he previously scored the MCU film Doctor Strange (2016) and the MCU Spider-Man trilogy for Marvel Studios, as well as Waititi's previous film Jojo Rabbit (2019). A soundtrack album, featuring Giacchino's original themes along with the score composed by him and Nami Melumad, was released by Hollywood Records and Marvel Music on July 6, 2022. The single "Mama's Got a Brand New Hammer", the film's main suite, was released on June 30. Waititi wanted the music to reflect the same aesthetic of the film with its "bombastic, loud, colorful palette". "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses is featured in the film, given Guns N' Roses is one of Waititi's favorite bands, and helped "reflect the sort of crazy adventure that we're [visually] presenting"; the song was also used in the film's marketing. The film features the song "Rainbow in the Dark" by Dio, according to Wendy Dio, widow of band member Ronnie James Dio. == Marketing ==
Marketing
Lego sets and Hasbro figures based on the film were revealed in February 2022, with additional Lego sets and Funko Pops revealed that April. The teaser trailer was released on April 18, and commentators discussed its ending, which debuted Portman's Foster in the Mighty Thor costume and wielding a restored version of Thor's hammer Mjolnir. Marco Vito Oddo of Collider and Ryan Parker from The Hollywood Reporter highlighted the use of "Sweet Child o' Mine", which Oddo felt indicated Waititi would "keep the hard rock aesthetics that helped Thor: Ragnarok become a huge success", while Parker called it a "bright, stylish, fun trailer [that] sets a tone for the film in true Taika Waititi form". Justin Harp of Digital Spy felt the humor from Ragnarok was "clearly back in this film too", while Tom Power of TechRadar felt the trailer was a "superhero, intergalactic glam rock feast for the senses" and contained intriguing footage that did a good job of teasing the film. Both The Ringer Daniel Chin and Empire Sophie Butcher highlighted the trailer's focus on Thor's journey of self-discovery as well as the lack of footage of Bale's Gorr. Chin remarked that the trailer was "dedicated to catching up with Thor as he rediscovers himself", and was excited for Portman's performance as Foster. He thought the trailer was a "far cry from the Thor we witnessed over a decade ago, as the franchise has transformed into a full-blown space comedy". Butcher felt the trailer's introspection was not surprising due to the film being set after Endgame, and said the trailer was brief but exciting. The trailer had 209 million global views in its first 24 hours, becoming the seventh most viewed trailer in that time period. A second trailer was released on May 23, during Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference finals. Many commentators highlighted Bale's appearance as Gorr the God Butcher in the trailer. Eric Francisco of Inverse noted the similar comedic tone from Ragnarok while adding "some darker shades" with the inclusion of Gorr. He said Bale brought an "absolutely vision of Gorr the God Butcher to the screen", adding that it appears Hemsworth was ready to pass the mantle of Thor to Portman. Jennifer Ouellette of Ars Technica noted that Gorr's scenes featured a different color palette, being shown in "primarily gray tones", which she felt made the contrast between other characters "more stark". Zach Seemayer from Entertainment Tonight felt that it "gives fans everything they've been hoping for from the brief flashes of important moments from the first trailer in April", citing scenes featuring Portman's the Mighty Thor, Thor "living up to his 'Space Viking' title", and Gorr's footage. Similarly, The A.V. Club Sam Barsanti and William Hughes also highlighted Portman and Hemsworth's Thor, Gorr's appearance, and other comedic moments in the trailer, such as when Thor is nude after Crowe's Zeus exposes his disguise. Scott Mendelson of Forbes called the trailer "the real deal" compared to the teaser, and noted similarities with the Masters of the Universe franchise. He speculated that Thor and Foster would be "pining" for each other despite it being 11 years after their first encounter, and called it "a little depressing", as he hoped the two "A+ dating specimens would have moved on". He also highlighted how Gorr's scenes played with color and contrast, and the "interplay" between Foster and Valkyrie. Footage from the film was also featured in the 2022 CineEurope presentation. Ulta Beauty partnered with Marvel Studios to create a makeup collection based on the film. On July 9, 2022, Waititi and Thompson appeared on Vanity Fair Notes on a Scene series, analysing the "Taste the Rainbow" scene. The video was met with criticism for what some viewers perceived as Waititi and Thompson "mocking" the visual effects, on the same day that multiple VFX artists who worked for Marvel had spoken out against being "underpaid" and "overworked" by the studio's productions. == Release ==
Release
Theatrical Thor: Love and Thunder premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 23, 2022. Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, calculated that Thor: Love and Thunder was watched for 1.5 billion minutes from September 5—11, 2022, making it the most-streamed film of the week. The following week, from September 12–18, 2022, it garnered 621 million minutes of watch time, ranking as the most-streamed film for the second week in a row. == Reception ==
Reception
Box office Thor: Love and Thunder grossed $343.3million in the United States and Canada, and $417.7million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $760.9million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $103million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it ninth on their list of 2022's "Most Valuable Blockbusters". In its third weekend the film made $22.6 million, finishing second behind newcomer Nope. Outside of North America, Love and Thunder grossed $15.7million from 17 markets on its opening day, surpassing the first-day overall results of Thor: Ragnarok (2017) by 39%. As of July 24, 2022, the film's largest markets are the United Kingdom ($31.5 million), Australia ($25.5 million), Mexico ($23.2 million), South Korea ($22.3 million), and Brazil ($17.2 million). Critical response The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of , with an average rating of , based on reviews. The site's critics consensus reads: "In some ways, Thor: Love and Thunder feels like Ragnarok redux – but overall, it offers enough fast-paced fun to make this a worthy addition to the MCU." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 64 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, and PostTrak reported 77% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 63% saying they would definitely recommend it. Jade King of TheGamer felt expectations from queer audiences for prominent "LGBTQ+ characters and themes" in Thor: Love and Thunder were not met, writing that "the film's creators have been out there talking up the LGBTQ+ representation when it isn't really a massive part of the experience. [...] it's time to temper your expectations and stop letting Marvel continue to queerbait us into disappointment." In June 2023, Hemsworth commented on the film's response, stating: "I think we just had too much fun. It just became too silly. It's always hard being in the center of it and having any real perspective [...] you just don't know how people are going to respond." He later reflected on his own performance, believing he had become "a parody of [himself]" with the improv and "wackiness" of the film, and that he "didn’t stick the landing". Accolades == Documentary special ==
Documentary special
In February 2021, the documentary series Marvel Studios: Assembled was announced. The special on this film, "The Making of Thor: Love and Thunder", was released on Disney+ on September 8, 2022, part of Disney+ Day. == Future ==
Future
Waititi was unaware that the tagline "Thor will return" was added to the end of the film. Waititi was open to directing another Thor film if Hemsworth was also involved, stating the story would need to be "something surprising and unexpected", suggesting a low-budget road trip film with no fight scenes, similar to Nebraska (2013). Hemsworth hoped that a future installment would have a "drastically different tone" that would "close the book" on the character. In June 2023, Hemsworth said informal conversations had discussed potential ideas for future appearances for the character. He also explained that he would want to return to Thor if all creatives were able to find another way to reinvent the character again to keep the experience "a little unpredictable" in order to not become stale with audiences. Waititi noted in Titan Books' Thor: Love and Thunder – The Official Movie Special Book, which was published in August 2023, that any additional Thor film would need to continue the character's evolution "but still in a very fun way and still giving him things to come up against" and would need to have a villain more powerful than Hela, who is featured in Ragnarok. In November 2023, Waititi confirmed that he would not be involved with a fifth Thor film. == Notes ==
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