How ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Sets up a Potential Game-Changer

by Josh Ramos · July 13, 2022

It was a film that was flooded with jokes and some visually stunning action that left us in awe, but it also felt oddly like a stepping stone for the iconic Marvel hero; which is why Thor: Love and Thunder feels like it sets up a potential game-changer for the MCU.

There was no denying or understating the level of excitement for the record-setting fourth solo film in the lauded Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a very interesting entry into what has been a rather inconsistent Phase Four.

Source: Marvel Studios

With visionary director Taika Waititi returning to the franchise that he revitalized with his brilliant work on Thor: Ragnarok, alongside the returning Natalie Portman in her debut as The Mighty Thor, and the arrival of Christian Bale’s highly-anticipated Gorr the God Butcher this film was stacked with potential.

The end product was a hilarious exploration into who Thor is now, following the insanity that was the final two installments of the Infinity Saga and a character that has truly experienced an insane amount of loss in his time in the MCU.

Source: Marvel Studios

It wasn’t the perfect film, but it felt at home in the pantheon of Thor titles, as it had its truly brilliant moments, while it embraced being a new kind of character study for a character unlike any that has graced the MCU.

Still, the film felt like it may be more of a stepping stone than a seminal installment, which is why we believed that Thor: Love and Thunder could set up a potential game-changer.

There are obviously some SPOILERS from this point onward so YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Source: Marvel Studios

Thor: Love and Thunder end’s with Thor traveling the galaxy alongside Love; the daughter of Gorr that was reborn from Eternity, and embued with all manner of superpowers that makes her able to battle valiantly alongsider her now adoptive father in the fight for justice in the universe.

But the film also ended with the acknowledgment of Valhalla, and the afterlife that features Jane Foster, Heimdall, and likely every single character that Thor has lost during his time in the MCU.

Source: Marvel Studios

With Thor: Love and Thunder showing Thor’s attempt to figure out who he is, and it ending with him embracing a kind of fatherhood, it feels like Marvel is able to present a story in which this newly discovered Thor faces his most difficult challenge yet.

Thor has lost so much, but it is fatherhood that is destined to show the character as his most protective, with this child he will naturally be desperate not to lose.

Marvel Studios

This coupled with the potential inclusion of the characters on Valhalla, and a villain shown in the post-credit scene hunting down the god of thunder presents an opportunity to truly bring a story to screen that would require the best of Chris Hemsworth.

This could be a truly redefining installment of the Thor mythos, and perhaps it would be best to put this installment in the hands of a different director, as it could lend itself to a more serious visionary behind the camera.