Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder is set to hit the big screen this July, a film which Taika Waititi has now joked may not be finished until a day before its big premiere.
Waititi, who made his MCU debut helming 2017's Thor: Ragnarok after directing acclaimed indie comedies such as What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, revitalized the mighty God of Thunder in what would turn out to be a much-needed turn for the character that established him as one of the MCU's funniest and most likable heroes. Now, the director is hoping to deliver another praise-worthy adventure with Thor: Love and Thunder.
Appearing at the Independent Spirit Awards, Waititi hinted at what stage the upcoming Marvel Studios film is at in its production, jokingly sharing that it may not be complete until around premiere time. “There’s nothing left [to tell]. I’ve said everything for the last two years. It’s still not finished," Waititi admitted to Variety when asked to tell everything about the sequel. When the reporter asked when it would be finished, Waititi jokingly replied, “It comes out July so… probably like end of June. Like a day before the premiere. That’s how we do it."
While it was revealed that other Marvel Studios projects like Spider-Man: No Way Home actually worked on the film's VFX all the way up until a week before the film's December 17 release last year, it's very likely Waititi is just messing with the public and displaying his classic sense of humor. Right now, much of the attention is on the MCU's next big feature, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a film, as its titles implies, that will center on the expanding multiverse and various alternate dimensions. Still, it appears Thor: Love and Thunder could give Sam Raimi's sequel film a run for his money in terms of craziness.
There's great hope that Thor: Love and Thunder will carry over the same exciting energy from its predecessor and become a worthy addition in this ongoing universe. Chris Hemsworth is returning once again as the titular hero in his fourth solo outing, where he will be dealing with Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher, a tormented being whose hatred towards gods has led him to hunt down and kill all the gods in the universe.
The film will also explore the rule of Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie and showcase Natalie Portman's Jane Foster (the astrophysicist and ex-lover of Thor who is making her first return since Thor: The Dark World) taking up the mantle of the God of Thunder. Waititi also hinted at the possibility of delving deeper into Korg's (a character the director plays himself through motion capture) culture and the introduction of the Space Sharks alien race.
Thor: Love and Thunder will arrive in theaters on July 8, 2022.
Source: Variety/Twitter