It felt like we had to wait forever for the fourth instalment in Thor’s cinematic journey (or for the trailer, at least) but as it turns out, the MCU Phase 4 movie has been in the works for quite a long time — as in, as soon as Thor: Ragnarok was released in 2017.
The adventure movie was a gigantic hit with audience and critics alike, amassing a huge $854 million at the global box office and receiving a 93% rating from Rotten Tomatoes. It was during the Marvel movie‘s release that they started discussing the next steps for Thor, Taika Waititi revealed in an interview with Fandango.
“We got this greenlit over dinner when Ragnarok came out,” the director explained. “We pulled into a few cinemas around town and then went to dinner and started talking through ideas with Kevin [Feige] and the rest of Marvel. The film became so beloved that very soon after that, they said ‘Let’s do another one!'”
It might have taken five years from there, but it’s just like they say — you can’t rush perfection. Thor: Love and Thunder picks up where Avengers: Endgame left off, with the Asgardian enjoying his retirement with the Guardians until Gorr the God Butcher (played by Batman actor Christian Bale) forces him to come out of retirement.
In order to combat the threat, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) teams up with King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) — who has now become Mighty Thor.
However, Thor’s dad bod seems to have been eliminated for this movie, and not everyone agrees with it — check out the thoughts of staff writer Jakob Barnes here.
Thor: Love and Thunder lands in theatres on July 8.