Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi opens up about what the film's titular God of Thunder really needs.
Waititi spoke with The New York Times about his approach to Thor and his motivation in the upcoming film. He explained that he asked himself, "'What is he missing most in his life?' It was love. It was a partner." Waititi added, "For people who are larger than life, what completes them? I think a lot of superheroes, when you look at them, they're just lonely."
Despite Thor's desire for a partner, Waititi has already confirmed that Thor 4's love story will subvert audience expectations. "I think most people will assume that the love story is between Chris and Natalie. I can’t promise that what people think is going to happen in this film will happen," he said. "I wanted to embrace this thing that I was always a bit dismissive of, and explore this idea of love, and show characters who do believe in love."
Waititi has also previously commented on the possibility of exploring other characters more in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including breakout fan-favorite Korg. He also remarked on a potential spin-off centered around Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, who has taken on a much different role than usual as the new king of Asgard. Waititi noted of Valkyrie's new role, "She's got to do all the things that they never tell you about when you're supposed to rule the people... So, she's spending a lot of her time not fighting, and all of her new battles have to do with ruling her people."
Apart from Valkyrie's recently appointed place in Asgard, Thor: Love and Thunder is poised to give other MCU stars their own new roles of their own. Natalie Portman, who is reprising her role as Jane Foster, will be picking up a reforged Mjolnir along with the powers of Thor. Portman opened up about her character's superpowered transformation, saying, "It was amazing to get to be challenged with that because I don’t think there’s many people who would cast a 5ft 3 woman as a 6ft character, so it was great to be able to get to imagine how someone who’s that big walks through the world, certainly not the same as me, always looking up at people, who always feels like a kid in every situation."
Thor: Love and Thunder also marks the MCU debut of Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher, a deicidal alien who is already being touted as "Probably the best villain that Marvel's ever had" by the film's director. Based on the comic book character of the same name, Bale's Gorr will be hunting gods throughout the universe on the silver screen. These will likely include the Greek pantheon led by Russell Crowe's Zeus, who will also be making their first appearance in the MCU with the film's premiere.
Thor: Love and Thunder crashes into theaters on July 8.
Source: The New York Times