The release of Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth installment of the franchise about the hammer-wielding God of Thunder, is a little over a month away. Along with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Love and Thunder is one of the most anticipated movies of the year —and adding to the ever-growing hype is director Taika Waititi, who teased that the upcoming project will feature "the best villain" in Marvel history.
Thor: Love and Thunder, which debuts theatrically in July, takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The film will see Thor (Chris Hemsworth) team up with The Mighty Thor (a.k.a. Jane Foster) and the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop Gorr the God Butcher from eliminating all gods. Gorr will be played by Christian Bale, who will be making his MCU debut and become one of the few actors to appear in both Marvel and DC films.
In a recent interview with AP News, Waititi discussed the premise of Thor: Love and Thunder and shared his excitement about having the Oscar winner portray the antagonist. "It’s a great, really fun, weird little group of heroes, a new team for Thor with Korg, Valkyrie, and The Mighty Thor," he said. "And, in my humble opinion, we have probably the best villain that Marvel’s ever had in Christian Bale."
Waititi also explained that the film will follow Thor as he suffers a "midlife crisis" and struggles to find his identity. The director told AP News that Thor "is just trying to figure out his purpose, trying to figure out exactly who he is and why he’s a hero or whether he should be a hero." Evidence of the journey was seen in Thor: Love and Thunder trailer that was released last month after much anticipation.
Another character who will face an emotional battle is Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, who must navigate a cancer diagnosis in her human form while fighting Gorr in her godly form as The Mighty Thor. To make matters worse, despite being deemed worthy enough to lift the hammer Mjölnir, doing so is detrimental to her health. Every time she uses Mjölnir, her body instantly rejects and releases the chemotherapy treatment she previously underwent.
Although Foster's cancer storyline had been introduced in the comics, fans were unsure whether the film would implement it, given Waititi's light-hearted approach to filmmaking. Nevertheless, the New Zealander is an expert at tackling difficult subjects with humor —as seen in 2019's Jojo Rabbit— so it wouldn't be surprising if he decided to include the cancer diagnosis in Love and Thunder.
Thor: Love and Thunder arrives in theaters on July 8, 2022.
Source: AP News