Thor: Love and Thunder details confirmed and denied by Taika Waititi

During an Instagram watch party, director Taika Waititi revealed new information about the upcoming film Thor: Love and Thunder.

Thor is the first Avenger to get a fourth film and from the sounds of it, this film is going to be insane. While hosting a Thor: Ragnarok watch party, director Taika Waititi gave away some details about the upcoming, and highly anticipated, Thor: Love and Thunder.

We already know that the film will star Chris Hemsworth as the God of Thunder and Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie. Natalie Portman will also be reprising her role as Jane Foster, as the character will become a female version of Thor.

Thor: Love and Thunder is undergoing its fourth or fifth draft and will feature more of New Asgard and a brand new look for Meik. Waititi promises that the film is ‘over the top’.

"It’s so “over-the-top” that it makes Thor: Ragnarok “seem like a really run of the mill, very safe film.” Says Waititi: “This new film feels like we asked a bunch of 10 year olds what should be in a movie and just said yes to everything.”"

That description sounds a bit worrying, honestly. Going bigger doesn’t always mean better, something the Thor films have learnt the hard way.

What other interesting nuggets of information did Waititi unveil about the film? And which rumors are still up in the air?

Confirmed: Korg is Canonically Queer

Marvel has been lackadaisical in adding queer characters to its big-screen roster, but that seems to finally be changing. Along with The Eternals, which is set to introduce the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first gay character, in Thor: Love and Thunder, Korg, the rock character mocapped by Waititi himself, will reveal himself to be gay, just as he is in the comics. Korg, however, is not searching for new love, as he’s still getting over the loss of the love of his life. The film will explore more of Korg’s culture and backstory as well.

Another character will also be established as queer. It was confirmed last year that Valkyrie will be searching for a queen to join her as ruler of New Asgard. Valkyrie’s first appearance in the MCU was supposed to cement her identity, but the studio backed out at the last minute.

Denied: Thor’s Transformation Won’t be Permanent

‘Fat-Thor’, or ‘Bro-Thor’ in Avengers: Endgame became a divisive figure for many viewers. Some loved the look and the honest expression of Thor’s depression and trauma; others saw the treatment of Thor by his fellow Avengers as fat-shaming.

Irrespective of how the character was perceived, Waititi feels that Thor is done with that part of his life. He didn’t directly address whether Thor will go back to his ripped form, but we can assume that leaving ‘The Dude’ persona behind means he’s probably borrowed Quill’s bowflex. Speaking of Quilll…

Confirmed: Guardians of the Galaxy Will Appear

As per Waititi, Thor is basically tagging along with the Guardians of the Galaxy, which means we’ll definitely see some of the characters appear in the film. Vin Diesel had let slip this information earlier this year. We don’t know if the Guardians will play a significant role in the film or have a cameo.

During the watch party, it was also hinted that Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk could return to the franchise. Bruce Banner was part of the ‘Revengers’ in Thor: Ragnarok, and he, Valkyrie and Thor became fast friends. Bruce has since evolved into Professor Hulk, but he was injured during Avengers: Endgame, so he could be recuperating up in New Asgard.

Denied: No Silver Surfer and Other Favorites Still ‘Up in the Air’

There was a rumor going around that the Silver Surfer would be battling Thor. The herald of Galactus, the planet eater, would have made a formidable foe, but he’s definitely not joining the cast in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Another character who fans have been hoping to will into existence is Beta Ray Bill. Ever since his statue was spotted in the previous Thor films, fans have been hoping for confirmation of his arrival in the MCU. While Waititi would also love to add Beta Ray Bill to the film, he says the character is still ‘up in the air’.

Confirmed: New Creatures

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Thor: Love and Thunder is heavily influenced by Jason Aaron’s comic run and the film will be featuring Starsharks, creatures that appeared in the comics. Thor is said to have ridden a starshark on-page.

These creatures are space sharks and vary in size, going up to 100 feet. They were introduced in Marvel continuity way back in the 1980s, in an X-Men comic. These space sharks have the ability to travel at great velocity, which means getting around will be a lot easier for Thor and team. They look like giant great white sharks, so a sub-genre of the film is probably going to be Thor fighting sharks. Anything is possible with Waititi.

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Space sharks are weird enough, but Meik has been suddenly revealed to be female and she’s getting new armour. How relevant will this information be to the story of the film?

Denied: The Name of the New Villain

Christian Bale, the actor who formerly played Batman in the Dark Knight trilogy, was confirmed to be the new villain in Thor: Love and Thunder. However, Waititi refused to confirm which character he could be playing. Fans can continue to speculate about that.

Waititi also didn’t confirm, nor deny, whether Tom Hiddleston’s Loki would return. Loki will be featuring in his solo Disney Plus show next year, so we can still hope that the character can make his way into the crazy world of this film.

It’s difficult to predict what the story and look of Thor: Love and Thunder will be given these details. We can assume that it will be hilarious, but hopefully it won’t fall prey to trying too hard. We’ll get a better look at the film when the teaser appears in 2021.

The film is currently scheduled for release on February 18, 2022.

Which of these teasers has you most excited about seeing Thor: Love and Thunder? Let us know in the comments.