With a steadily-approaching release date of July 8, more details about Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth solo outing for Marvel’s God of Thunder, are finally starting to trickle out. We got a peek at what Valkyrie will be wearing as King of New Asgard, along with some leaked marketing images of Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder, the goats who pull Thor’s chariot and will be making their MCU debut. Now, thanks to a glimpse at new action figures of Thor and Jane Foster, we’ve got some juicy new details to pore over!
Taking place after the events of The Avengers: Endgame, and possibly occurring at the same time as Spider-Man: No Way Home, Thor: Love and Thunder will see Thor (Chris Hemsworth) reunite with his old flame Jane (Natalie Portman), who dumped him sometime between The Dark World and Ragnarok. In this movie, Jane will take on the mantle of The Mighty Thor herself, following the comic book arc of the same name. Together, Jane and Thor will take on Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who has sworn to kill all gods after the death of his family. Zeus (Russell Crowe) will also make an appearance, along with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Thor fans will remember that, the last time we saw them, Thor and the rest of the Asgardians were living through a pretty tumultuous time. Asgard was destroyed in Ragnarok, and with Odin dead, Thor had no choice but to ascend to the throne. However, when Thanos attacked the Asgardian refugee ship heading to Earth, he killed half the Asgardians on board, and the population was halved again during the Blip. During those five years, the remaining Asgardians settled in Norway, calling their home New Asgard, while Thor fell into a deep depression over the loss of his family and home. At the end of Endgame, Thor named Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) King of Asgard while he took off with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Phew! That’s a lot for one thunder god to deal with. Plus, with Taika Waititi once again directing, Love and Thunder is set to be just as wild and off the wall as Ragnarok.
So, about these new toys. What secrets do they reveal? Let’s dive in!
Jane as The Mighty Thor
In The Mighty Thor comics, Jane wore a helmet that concealed her identity, and it looks like the costuming in Love and Thunder will be sticking pretty closely to the source material. The Jane figure has two heads that you can switch out: one with the helmet, and one without it. Does this mean that Jane’s identity will be a secret for some or all of the movie, or is Marvel keeping the helmet simply because it looks super cool?
The rest of Jane’s outfit bears a close resemblance to Thor’s armor from previous movies, right down to the flowing red cape. It’ll be exciting to see her sporting some traditional Asgardian garb! We also get to see Jane’s new super-jacked arm muscles, which led to an Internet frenzy when set photos revealed Natalie Portman’s guns last summer.
The most exciting detail about the Jane figure, though, is the reconstituted Mjolnir. In the comics, Jane finds an intact Mjolnir on the moon. If you look closely at the hammer in Love and Thunder Jane’s hand, though, you’ll see that it’s covered in cracks.
Thor: Ragnarok began with Hela breaking Mjolnir into pieces. Once the plot got rolling, though, we never did find out what happened to those pieces. Thanks to Odin’s spell, no one can lift the hammer unless they’re worthy of the power of Thor, so assuming that spell held after Odin’s death and Mjolnir’s shattering, it’s not like someone could have come and carried the pieces off. So where have they been this whole time? It’s possible that they stayed right where they fell for the 5+ years of the Blip and its aftermath. Or, if they weren’t too far from New Asgard, Thor might have collected them and stored them in the smelly, beer-soaked cabin where he played video games with Korg and Miek.
Either way, there was originally some speculation that Jane would get Mjolnir from another timeline, but the action figure proves that this is the original Mjolnir, somehow put back together. The figure also has detachable parts that make Mjolnir look like it’s exploding into blue and yellow light, so it’s possible Jane will be able to use Mjolnir’s disassembled status to her advantage.
Thor as the Other Thor
Thor himself is sporting a brand new look for Love and Thunder, trading in his monochrome armor for a brighter blue and gold ensemble. This color scheme fits with the aesthetic that was introduced in Ragnarok, with lots of bright colors and bold patterns.
We knew from early set photos that Marvel would be moving away from the problematic “fat Thor,” and sure enough, this figure shows Thor sporting a slimmed-down look. One wonders how much attention the movie will pay to Thor’s fluctuating weight. Love and Thunder presents a chance for Marvel to be a little more sensitive to Endgame‘s fatphobia, if they choose to take it. Or we may get Thor’s new body with no commentary, or even worse, more fat jokes. It remains to be seen.
Thor’s weapon is also revealing. Stormbreaker, the giant axe that Eitri the dwarf forged for Thor in Infinity War, is still by his side, and it looks like Stormbreaker might be Thor’s weapon of choice from here on out.
There are still a lot of questions that haven’t been answered yet. How closely will Love and Thunder adhere to The Mighty Thor comics? Are Thor and Jane getting back together? Will the Guardians of the Galaxy help out in the fight against Gorr? Is Valkyrie going to totally kick butt as King? (Well, okay, the answer to that one is obviously yes.) With the first trailer likely still months away, we’ll just have to speculate for now. But at least we’ve got our first look at Thor and Jane!
What are you most excited about for Thor: Love and Thunder? Are these action figures destined for your collection? Any details that I missed? Sound off in the comments!
(featured image: Marvel)
