‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Was ‘a More Ambitious Movie Than Ragnarok,’ Says Tessa Thompson
Thor: Love and Thunder is the latest Marvel flick to hit theaters. It follows Chris Hemsworth’s titular God of Thunder as he attempts to reconcile with his past love, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Together, the two face off against a mysterious supervillain. And according to one of its stars, Tessa Thompson, Thor: Love and Thunder is a “more ambitious” movie than the previous Thor installment, Thor: Ragnarok. Read on to hear more about what Thompson and Taika Waititi had to say about the film.
‘Thor: Love and Thunder:’ cast, story details, and similarities to ‘Thor: Ragnarok’
Directed by Waititi, best known for his work on the Oscar-nominated Jojo Rabbit, Thor: Love and Thunder shows a very different side of Thor—one who’s very much in love.
Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, audiences get a glimpse at a “retired” Thor. He still helps the Guardians of the Galaxy on dangerous missions — but only if he’s explicitly called upon. However, his plans to retire are derailed when a new threat, Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), starts killing off gods. To defeat Gorr, Thor has to call on some help from New Asgard. He must also confront his feelings for his newly-superpowered ex.
Thompson, Waititi, and Portman all reprise their roles for the new film. Thompson stars as Valkyrie, Waititi as Korg, and Portman as Jane, now Mighty Thor. Thor: Love and Thunder marks Portman’s long-awaited return to the franchise, as she hasn’t starred in a Marvel project since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World.
Both Thor: Love and Thunder and its predecessor, Thor: Ragnarok, were directed by Waititi. But the stories are significantly different in tone. Thor: Love and Thunder explores the God of Thunder’s relationship to Jane and sees Thor questioning his place in the world.
On the other hand, Thor: Ragnarok is a comedy-heavy adventure flick. It sees Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, and Hulk joining forces in an attempt to save Asgard from total annihilation after Thor’s evil sister, Hela, takes control of the planet.
Tessa Thompson says ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ is very different than ‘Thor: Ragnarok’
During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Thompson and Waititi opened up about some differences between Thor: Love and Thunder and Thor: Ragnarok.
“It was, in some ways, a more ambitious movie than Ragnarok,” said Thompson of the new film. “Even though Ragnarok was so sprawling, and it was a lot to sort of…take over and reimagine the franchise. But this one was also the thing of like, ‘how do you make a second installment of this that feels as exciting?'”
Thor: Ragnarok saw plenty of action and had some significant consequences on the rest of the MCU. For example, the death of Odin, destruction of Asgard, showdown against the Grandmaster, and relocation of the planet’s remaining citizens to Earth. Because of this, it’s safe to say that expectations were high among fans for Thor: Love and Thunder.
Thompson continued. “But also [Waititi’s] trying to make a romantic comedy inside of also a superhero movie where there’s heroes and introduce a new villain, and he has pathos…so it was challenging.”
“We were all in it together,” concluded Waititi.
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ vs. ‘Thor: Love and Thunder:’ which movie fared better with fans and critics?
Thor: Ragnarok is widely-acclaimed by Marvel fans. Many credit Waititi’s vision of a funnier Thor for “saving” the character after a lackluster first two movies.
On Rotten Tomatoes, Thor: Ragnarok is Certified Fresh. It currently holds a 93 percent score with critics and an 87 percent score with fans. It holds the No. 4 spot in the ranking of all 29 MCU movies, according to the Tomatometer.
Although Thor: Love and Thunder just hit theaters on July 8, 2022, reviews so far have been mixed. Currently, the movie holds a 67 percent Tomatometer score and an 81 percent audience score, indicating that it’s not quite as well-loved as its predecessor.
One of viewers’ biggest complaints with the latest Thor installation is its similarities to Thor: Ragnarok. Rotten Tomatoes’ critic’s consensus reads: “In some ways, Thor: Love and Thunder feels like Ragnarok redux — but overall, it offers enough fast-paced fun to make this a worthy addition to the MCU.”
Ultimately, the fourth Thor movie still triumphs compared to Thor and Thor: The Dark World, which hold a 77 and 66 percent Tomatometer score, respectively. And after raking in over $143 million over its opening weekend, Thor: Love and Thunder is on-track to have one of the biggest theatrical openings of the summer.
