DirectorTaika Waititihopes to subvert expectations withThor: Love and Thunderby giving Marvel fans a version of the God of Thunder they do not want. Or at least, one that they did not realize they wanted all along. In an interview withAP News, Waititi explained his approach to Thor in his latest MCU sequel, revealing that the character presented inThor: Love and Thunderis “probably the last thing that a Thor fan really wants to hear.” Cue the groans and worry.
“I wanted to show him in a light that most Thor fans wouldn’t really want if you were to tell them. If you were to say to them: ‘Yeah, I’m going to make Thor in love,’ it’s probably the last thing that a Thor fan really wants to hear.”
Thor being in love is perhaps nothing new, with the Asgardian having been devoted to Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster in the past, but based on the title and Waititi’s words, it sounds likeThor: Love and Thunderwill lean into the romance more than ever before. To assuage some of the concern, Waititi continued, likening this latest iteration of Thor to that of his previousMCUouting, the critically acclaimedThor: Ragnarok.
“For me, it’s good to give the fans something they don’t know that they want. With ‘Ragnarok’ especially, when I signed on, a lot of fans were freaked out by that. They were like, ‘Who is this guy? He’s going to take our precious Thor and ruin it.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah. Exactly. That’s exactly my intention. And I’m going to make it better, you just don’t know it yet.’”
Related:Taika Waititi Offered Natalie Portman a Star Wars Role After Forgetting She’s in the Prequel Trilogy
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the Critics May Not Like This Version of Thor Either…
Subverting expectations and trying to avoid giving fans something too obvious can be a risky business, and it may not have quite paid off this time for director Taika Waititi and star Chris Hemsworth. The reviews forThor: Love and Thunderare now in, and the Rotten Tomatoes score for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 29th outing has now dropped to 69%.This puts it way down on the lower end of the MCU overall.
For context,Thor: Love and Thunder’s69% puts it below the firstThoradventure, which stands at 77%, and only just in front of the much-malignedThor: The Dark World,a sequel that sits at an only just fresh 66%. Of course,Thor: Love and Thunder’sscore puts it well behind that ofThor: Ragnarok, which sits high up on the MCU overall ranking with a very fresh 93%.
Thor: Love and Thunderfinds Thor in a very different light than ever before - on a quest for inner peace. His retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher, who seeks the extinction of the gods, leading Thor to enlist the help of King Valkyrie, Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor.
Directed by Taika Waititi, who co-wrote the script with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson,Thor: Love and Thunderstars Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Taika Waititi, Jaimie Alexander, and Russell Crowe.
Thor: Love and Thunderis scheduled to be released on June 15, 2025, as part of Phase Four of the MCU.
