by Note: The following article contains many spoilers for Thor: love and thunder.
Thor: love and thunder is finally in theaters, bringing its jukebox rock soundtrack and colorful visuals to the big screen as Taika Waititi gives Marvel’s favorite god another unique adventure. This time, Chris Hemsworth’s Asgardian deity is up against the dangerous threat posed by Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher, who is… well, he’s slaughtering gods.
Thor travels to New Asgard, where he is reunited with King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), who has been joined by a new hero: Thor’s ex, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), now wielding Mjolnir in the guise of Mighty Thor. Together, the trio, along with Korg voiced by Waititi, attempt to stop Gorr before he gains the ability to wipe out all the gods in one fell swoop.
Read more: Recapping Thor’s journey in the MCU so far
The film is less focused on cameos and gags than recent Marvel efforts like Spider-Man: No Way Home Y Doctor strange in the multiverse of madness, but it features plenty of noteworthy stuff for Marvel devotees and those who love a surprise appearance. Certainly, there was a lot of raucous applause at the IMAX press screening. Let’s review some of the great moments…
The Guardians
The last time we saw Thor at the end of avengers endgame, was ready to fly around the cosmos with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Anyone expecting an intense adventure in Star-Lord, Groot and the rest of the gang will have been disappointed by love and thunderwhich instead gives the Guardians little more than a glorified cameo.
The likes of Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista and the rest appear briefly in the film’s first act as a hedonistic Thor fights alongside them before seeing a video of Lady Sif – more on her later – in peril.
This prompts him to return their ship to the Guardians, before flying off with the help of some screaming goats. Yes, you heard that right…
The goats
Thor: love and thunder sees Thor gifted with a pair of massive goats after helping save a planet alongside the Guardians. The creatures, known as the Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, are established allies of Thor in Marvel Comics and in the original Norse mythology that the comics have drawn inspiration from over the years.
In the comics, the goats pull a chariot for Thor which, in the movie, turns into a pirate ship known as the Goat Boat. They have been used repeatedly in the comics as battering rams and have allowed Thor to lead others to safety, as well as providing him with meat to consume before regenerating their bodies. In the movie, however, they cry a lot.
Chris Hemsworth has even suggested that the constant screaming of the goats could have been provided by Waititi himself. That, unfortunately, has not been confirmed. Waititi himself says they were taken from an EDM track.
mrs sif
Jaimie Alexander hasn’t appeared in a movie as Thor’s ally Lady Sif since Thor: The Dark World in 2013, after being forced to sit ragnarok due to schedule conflicts. End of the game Co-director Joe Russo confirmed in an interview that Sif was one of the victims of Thanos’ Snap, later resurrected when the Avengers triumphed over the Mad Titan. She appeared for a short and funny cameo in the Loki series last year on Disney+.
In love and thunder, Sif appears in a video under attack from Gorr the God Butcher. When Thor finally catches up to her, she has lost an arm during a fight with Gorr. In the final moments of the film, she is seen helping to train the young residents of New Asgard, including Heimdall’s son Axl, in combat.
Asgardian actors
One of the highlights of Thor: Ragnarök It was a memorable scene in which Loki, then disguised as Odin, presided over a theatrical re-enactment of his heroic and sacrificial death in Thor: The Dark World. In acting, Matt Damon played Loki, Luke Hemsworth played Thor, and Sam Neill played Odin.
the trio returns love and thunder in a performance based on Odin’s death in ragnarok and the subsequent arrival of Odinson’s third sister, Hela, who is played here by Melissa McCarthy. McCarthy’s husband and regular collaborator Ben Falcone plays a stagehand involved in the production. The couple had previously promoted a role in the film through a video on social media.
Darcy and Selvig
Fan-favorite MCU character Darcy Lewis was last seen in Wanda Vision, in which she was recruited by SWORD to help investigate what was going on in Westview. She escaped after those events before she could face interrogation, but reappears in love and thunder to support her friend Jane Foster, who was diagnosed with stage four cancer, through her chemotherapy.
Jane and Darcy are working together in an attempt to find a new treatment for her illness, with the help of another old friend. Although he only appears briefly, we see Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) advising Jane via video call. It seems that even Marvel characters love Zoom tests.
god of meatballs
Midway through the film, the Asgardian gang visits Omnipotence City, the parliament of the gods, hoping to recruit Zeus (Russell Crowe, with a comedic Greek accent) for their fight against Gorr. Upon entering, they meet a selection of different deities, including a God of Magic, a god who is a kronan like Korg, and a God of Dumplings in the form of an animated bao bun.
family affair
Among the numerous secondary actors of Thor: love and thunder are various family members from the main cast, according to Indiewire, including Chris Hemsworth’s children, Natalie Portman, Taika Waititi and Christian Bale. Many of them play members of the group of Asgardian children who are kidnapped by Gorr.
Hemsworth confirmed the presence of his children in an interview with Kevin McCarthy, revealing that one of his twin sons, Tristan, plays the role of young Thor in a flashback scene. Meanwhile, anyone who noticed a very specific accent in the final scene will have guessed that Hemsworth’s eldest daughter, India, plays Gorr’s daughter, who she eventually refers to as Love. Hemsworth’s wife, Elsa Pataky, is also on the cast list, credited as Wolf Woman.
Post-Credits Surprises
As has become traditional in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor: love and thunder it has a mid-credits sequence and a post-credits scene. The mid-credits scene focuses on Russell Crowe’s Zeus, who had survived being stabbed by Thor with his own lightning bolt earlier in the film. He laments the disrespect shown to the gods today before summoning his son, Hercules, to hunt down Thor in an attempt to reassert the gods over superheroes. Hercules, we see, is played by none other than ted lasso actor Brett Goldstein, with a Greek accent just as outrageous as the one Crowe is using.
Read more: All upcoming Marvel movies and TV series
Meanwhile, the post-credits sequence features the surprise return of Idris Elba as Heimdall, who is seen welcoming Jane Foster to Valhalla. He thanks her for helping protect her son Axl from Gorr before lovingly welcoming him to take her place among the other fallen warriors of Asgard.
We’ve delved a little deeper into these credits scenes and what they mean for the future of the MCU in a separate article.
Thor: love and thunder is available to watch in UK cinemas and IMAX now.
See: Trailer for Thor: love and thunder
