Let’s Talk about the Easter Eggs in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’
Okay, we’ve had a few days to digest the trailer for Marvel’s newest epic, But there’s still plenty to work out, so Let’s talk about the Easter eggs and story updates in the first trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder.
PS: If you need to catch up, here’s the trailer:
Where’s Christian Bale?
Source: Marvel Studios
You’ve undoubtedly heard that Christian Bale will portray the villain in this film, a character named Gorr the God Butcher.
Since Thor is, you know, the God of Thunder, Gorr qualifies as an existential threat. Also, Christian Bale is quite famous and a former Batman. So, you would expect his presence throughout the trailer.
That’s not the case. Instead, his presence is felt rather than seen in this clip. At one point, we notice a fallen white dragon-looking thing. That’s Falligar the Behemoth, the Patron God of the Galactic Frontier.
Source: Marvel Studios
This gives us our first of the easter eggs of the latest Thor trailer; Falligar is both an ally of Thor and something of a badass in the comics. First, he won the Tournament of Immortals. Then, his luck ran out when Gorr found him.
Thor discovers Falligar in the comics in a shot eerily similar to the one in the trailer, which is the point. Gorr can somehow kill the best of the immortals.
Here’s a comparison of the comic shot to the one in the trailer:
We talking about comic accuracy?? Damn!!
Falligar the Behemoth in #ThorLoveAndThunder pic.twitter.com/6Mr0mJAbtQ
— Aaron 'Azza' Phillips (@BritishCPA) April 18, 2022
As you can tell, the only real difference is that Korg is standing beside Thor in the movie version.
Why Young Thor?
Source: Marvel Studios
The trailer shows Thor at multiple stages in his life, including when he was a youth. I don’t think this is a random decision. Instead, the idea of a climactic battle between Gorr and Thor has been in the offing since the God of Lightning was a child.
Those workout clips in the trailer hint that all his training has led him to this one moment where he faces the ultimate foe of deities in the MCU.
Whither Valkyrie?
Photo: Marvel Studios
Do you remember that decisive moment at the end of Avengers: Endgame where Thor ceded the throne?
The deity recognized he was either unworthy or, at least, unready to lead the people of New Asgard. Instead, Thor selected someone else for the job, offering it to his buddy, Valkyrie. She readily accepted the gig, albeit while promising significant changes.
In our next of the easter eggs of the latest Thor: Love and Thunder trailer, we catch Business Suit Valkyrie, the ruler of all she surveys. And she looks bored out of her brains.
Source: Marvel Studios
That’s understandable for a warrior woman who suddenly finds herself running a country rather than drinking, fighting, and wenching, three of her favorite things.
In fact, Valkyrie seems to be running some sort of…tourist destination now? She’s turned New Asgard into a place where cruise ships dock. Also, some of the Asgardian Viking boats can fly now. It’s like Disneyland meets Norse mythology as a tourist locale. No wonder she’s bored.
The Guardians Return
Source: Marvel Studios
We’d known that the Guardians of the Galaxy would appear in Thor 4. After all, Thor flies off with them at the end of Avengers: Endgame.
During that season, a tease involves who will captain the ship. Apparently, Thor is willing to cede control of New Asgard…but not a starship.
Well, the next easter egg of the latest Thor trailer shows all of the Guardians but Gamora, who is off doing her own thing now that she’s been dead but comes back thanks to time travel.
Source: Marvel Studios
Mantis appears to have gained some sort of Borg technology on her forehead, presumably to heighten her telepathic abilities. Everyone else but Groot looks the same. He’s back to being ten feet tall again now that he’s an adult tree.
The trailer does lean into the slash fiction aspect of Peter Quill and Thor’s relationship. There’s a comedic moment where Thor tries to get his counterpart to look longingly into his eyes. That’s funny stuff.
However, this gag also hints at what we should expect from the Guardians of the Galaxy. They’re likely only in this film as a bridge to get Thor to the next phase of his life. In fact, that’s the recurring theme here. Now that Thor has helped to defeat Thanos (twice, technically), he doesn’t know who he is.
Source: Marvel Studios
After all, the deity has lost his father, his mother, his brother, and his (presumed dead) sister in a matter of a few years. They’re immortal beings. One significant loss should be enough for millennia.
So, Thor must walk a new path wherein he discovers who he is without his royal family’s support…and occasional betrayal.
A Second Lightning God? Or a Third?
Source: Marvel Studios
Okay, we’ll get to the big finish in a bit. First, however, a significant one of the many easter eggs in the Thor trailer is that Russell Crowe appears as Zeus…and he’s wielding a lightning bolt.
Zeus rules the skies in Greek mythology, just as Odin does in the MCU. However, Zeus isn’t quite the Allfather but more of a near-omnipotent horndog. For Marvel fans, his presence here stirs intrigue for multiple reasons. First, he, too, has mastered the power of lightning.
Counting Thor and Lady Thor, that’s three lightning-based fighters in the MCU. It’s like an MMORPG. Second, Zeus’ presence hints at the Greek pantheon and its most beloved character in Marvel comics, Hercules.
Source: Marvel Studios
Thor could probably use some powerful friends in a final battle with someone who goes by “god butcher.”
Wielding the Cracked Hammer
Source: Marvel Studios
The trailer answers one of the questions I’ve had about Jane Foster. When this character becomes Lady Thor, which hammer does she get?
You may recall that three are floating around the MCU right now, presuming we count Stormbreaker, the one Thor (and Groot) forged in Avengers: Infinity War. If not, we’re down to two versions of Mjolnir, one of which Thor’s sister, Hela, shattered in Thor: Ragnarok.
The other is a timey-wimey one that Thor acquired during Avengers: Endgame. That version of Mjolnir is effectively one he stole from himself. So it’s best that we not think about the logic there.
Source: Marvel Studios
Anyway, I’d debated how Foster would come into possession of Thor’s hammer (don’t giggle, pervs). The answer appears to be that she somehow reassembles the shattered version of Mjolnir. You can even trace the hammer’s cracks in the trailer!
Now, I should allow for the possibility that Foster comes from an alternate universe due to the upcoming Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, I suspect Marvel preferred this touch of authenticity instead. Thor couldn’t reassemble his hammer…but Jane Foster could!
Source: Marvel Studios
I also quite like the structure of the trailer. Foster doesn’t appear until the final seconds, just long enough to provide a glimpse of her as Lady Thor. Overall, this is a terrific trailer that does exactly what it should – it makes us excited for Thor: Love and Thunder without giving away much.
