Entertainment has had a banner year in terms of creativity and execution of its stories, especially in terms of '80s nostalgia. Movies like Thor: Love and Thunder have promised to bring an '80s hair metal flair to the God of Thunder. Meanwhile, television has had the return of Stranger Things to bring its own '80s style, complete with slasher-esque monsters, catchy throwbacks and synth beats. As it turns out, the former could've very well brought fans to the attention of singer-songwriter Kate Bush before her emotional reappearance with "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" in Stranger Things Season 4.
Not much has been revealed in terms of the plot for Thor: Love and Thunder aside from the motivations for Christian Bale's Gorr the God-Butcher. In the film, his main focus is to destroy all Gods in the universe for reasons yet to be revealed, but it was later revealed in an interview with Bale that his inspiration for the character nearly included a unique connection to Kate Bush.
"Taika and I wanted to do a whole dance," Bale said, "which we didn't get to do, but we had all this sort of Bush stuff that we worked at, but I think he just realized he was never going to be allowed to put that in the final film."
This unique take on the character was also meant to be included with his inspirations from the vampiric Count Orlok in Nosferatu. While it made sense that Bale and Waititi's dance number wouldn't have matched the film's tone, it's interesting that Bush was even in the minds of filmmakers long before Stranger Things brought her back into the public eye.
Waititi has always been known for stirring up the established order with his directing, such as leaning into comedy with Thor. As a result, it might've seemed strange to see Gorr dancing to Bush, but there may have been a hilarious context that would have taken an out-of-place scene and made it a fan favorite. For Stranger Things 4, Bush had an even more emotional context as the song was used to save Max from Vecna's clutches, but had Thor: Love and Thunder implemented its idea for Gorr, would Stranger Things 4 still be the series to kickstart the Bush resurgence?
It's hard to tell right now, but it could've occurred that Thor: Love and Thunder would've been the first film to bring Bush back into the spotlight, as both experienced delays due to the pandemic, so its unclear what would have come first if it weren't for delays. t's hard to say who would've truly earned the Kate Bush crown between both projects, but one thing's for sure; this is an era of film and TV where '80s influences can help create fun and modern-day emotional stories that are nostalgic for older viewers and a gateway to new music for younger ones. In the end, it's great to see these projects bring back such hits from decades ago in an appreciative way, but if Bush's resurgence in popularity is any indicator, it's only a matter of time before another franchise finds its own next big classic.
Thor: Love and Thunder will hit theaters July 8, 2022.