As the Marvel Cinematic Universe dives further and further into Phase 4, more and more powerful gods and beings have been introduced. Concept art for Thor: Love and Thunder shows some of the deities being considered for the screen included a major X-Men connection.
Artist Sung Choi shared concept art from the recent MCU film online, depicting Omnipotence City and some of the many deities that might have been intended to appear. Among the crowd of gods are Galactus and none other than Cyttorak, who comic book fans will recognize as the creator of the unstoppable Juggernaut.
Created by Roy Thomas and Geof Isherwood, Cyttorak, also known as the Destroyer, is an extremely powerful being from the Crimson Cosmos. Though he was once worshipped as a god and feared as a demon on Earth, he was eventually banished. To continue sowing destruction, he bestowed his power on to an avatar, allowing them to become the unstoppable force known as Juggernaut, whose current host is Cain Marko, brother of the X-Men's iconic head, Charles Xavier.
Cyttorak and the X-Men in the MCU
The character ultimately did not appear in Thor: Love and Thunder, though several X-Men characters are beginning to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Aside from the faux-Pietro in WandaVision, Sir Patrich Stewart returned as a variant of Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and it is known that Deadpool, whose films once belonged to Fox's X-Men franchise, has a new film in development set in the MCU. Whether or not Deadpool 2's version of Juggernaut will make a return has yet to be revealed.
Cyttorak has been mentioned many times since Strange Tales #124 (written by Stan Lee, illustrated by Dick Ayers with lettering by Artie Simek) in 1964, but only made a full appearance in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #44 (written by Roy Thomas, artwork by Geof Isherwood and George Roussos with lettering by Pat Brosseau).
The fourth instalment in the Thor film saga is enjoying relatively modest success at the box office. It recently passed the $700 million mark at the worldwide box office, though in earnings it continues to fall behind its predecessor, Thor: Ragnarok. In terms of critical reception, Love and Thunder has been met with generally positive reviews, though some criticize the number of gags and focus on jokes and levity, rather than high stakes and emotional substance.
Source: Instagram