The next Marvel movie to hit the big screen features none other than Chris Hemsworth returning as the thunderous Thor after a decade of playing one of Marvel's most popular heroes. The powerful god embarks on an adventure to achieve inner peace, but his plans are interrupted by Gorr the God Butcher. How will Thor handle the galactic killer?
Here's the scoop on the cast of Thor: Love and Thunder!
Meet the Cast
Chris Hemsworth is back as the iconic Thor. Other than his participation in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he has also starred in Extraction, Spiderhead, and Men in Black: International.
Natalie Portman is Jane Foster and The Mighty Thor. The Israeli-American actress is known for her roles in Black Swan and Star Wars episodes 1 and 2.
Tessa Thompson plays King Valkyrie who is often helping Thor defeat evil forces. She is most known for her acting in the Creed movies.
Christian Bale is the villain (Gorr the God Butcher) who disturbs Thor's peace. Christian has also played in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises.
Taika Waititi is the writer, director, and fictional character, Korg. Taika is a New Zealand filmmaker who has worked on projects like Free Guy, Thor: Ragnarok, and Jojo Rabbit.
Kevin Feige is the producer of Thor: Love and Thunder, as well as the president of Marvel Studios. He is the main producer behind the MCU.
Growing up in the MCU
Chris comments on the character Thor. Chris reveals that Taika "brought out the immature, young, adolescent quality that I embody. And so does Thor now, which he didn’t in the original films, which was exciting and new and fresh." Chris continues by saying that he "embodies this space as a child would and enjoying all of it and being caught up in the wonder and the fascination of all of it. And not getting bogged down in the serious sort of nature that we can when making films. Personally, with these kinds of films, it’s got to be fun, and that’s what we’ve done. That’s what I’ve related to."
Thor's Spotlight
Kevin comments on why the audience is drawn to Thor. "I think they respond to Chris Hemsworth, and I think they respond to everything that he can do. And Taika certainly brought another dimension that was always there within Chris. There were moments, even going back to EPK interviews between the two of them on our New Mexico set, where Chris was… I was like, 'Is he trying to be funny? Or is it…? No, he is being funny. He’s hilarious.'"
Taika reveals his thoughts about the character, Thor. "When you meet Chris, he’s very hard to figure out how to make him relatable. And that was the big challenge. I’ve become friends with Chris, and I think just his personality and his energy and who he is, is the kind of person that I’d want to be on an adventure with. And yeah, someone who you can trust will be there to kind of look after you. Like a real-life hero."
Doctor Jane Foster and The Mighty Thor
Natalie talks about her experience wearing a Thor suit for the first time. "Yeah, it was pretty wild, of course. After seeing Chris wear the costume for so many years, and then to try the version on myself and getting fitted for all the arm cuffs and the boots and everything was pretty surreal for the first time." She further reveals that "I was especially grateful to everyone’s imagination to cast a five-three actress in a six-foot role. I think that takes a real leap of possibility in your mind and probably not something I will get the opportunity to do, to be imagined as, by any other group."
Playing the Villain Gorr
Christian gives his thoughts on playing the villain. "I think in Gorr, they look for an actor polar opposite. Someone not relatable, a bit of a loner, creepy, someone no one wants to be around, and nobody wants to see his ass. And so, I think they went, 'Yeah, we found it in Bale.'"
Christian also reveals that "there’s a great pleasure in playing a villain. It’s a lot easier to play a villain than it is to play a hero. Chris had a much tougher job. Everyone is fascinated with bad guys. And then, the beauty of it is that Taika can make it bloody hilarious and then really moving as well in this story. I don’t know if it’s pushing it too much to say sympathy, but certainly, you sort of understand maybe why this guy is making awful decisions. And he is a monster, and he is a butcher."
Valkyrie's Journey
Tessa mentions playing the hero, King Valkyrie. "It’s been really fun. I mean, the thing that I’ve really enjoyed about these films, and certainly I think something that Stan Lee talked a lot about, whether it’s a villain or a hero. The thing sometimes that connects them to their power, whether it’s used for good or bad, is actually their trauma. And so, when we first met Valkyrie, she had a tremendous amount of it, and she was dealing with that by drinking a lot. And for Taika and I, we talked a lot about upending what a female superhero looks like. That you sort of have this moment where she comes out, and you think it’s gonna be sort of that badass thing. And then, she immediately falls over."
Movie Soundtrack
Taika comments on the songs featured in Thor: Love and Thunder. "We just wanted to spend as much money as we possibly could on some songs. It’s always been a dream of mine. The whole aesthetic around the film was always what we wanted it to be this bombastic, loud, colorful palette, which kind of reflected, like, spray-painted panel vans in the eighties and rock album covers. And, even the title treatment for the film, it’s the kind of thing I would’ve drawn on my school book in class when I wasn’t listening."
What Audiences Should Know
Christian shares his experience of working on chaotic sets. "I've worked with a lot of directors who enjoy improvisation and whatnot. You do the script first and then you just see what else you can do beyond that. But what I liked a lot is emotion comes through the ears, right, and he plays music nonstop on the set, and that was fantastic."
Natalie reveals her vision of a superhero has changed over the years. "I feel like getting this opportunity, first of all with such an incredible way to explore a female superhero that could be quite vulnerable and weak and find strength in that and be more like a human I could relate to personally. And then also I think it just gave me renewed respect for what Chris has been doing for over a decade."
Watch Thor: Love and Thunder in your local theaters on July 8th!
For the scoop on more Marvel content, check these articles out:
- Interview: The Cast and Crew of Ms. Marvel
- The 100 Best Quotes from Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange
- Top 60 WandaVision Quotes
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