Follow Us on Google News
“THOR WILL RETURN”
That line appears on the screen at the end of “Thor: Love and Thunder” after Chris Hemsworth’s Nordic demigod battles alongside Natalie Portman’s amped-up Jane, now the hammer-wielding Mighty Thor.
Hemsworth, watching the movie for the first time at the “Love and Thunder” world premiere last month, was like, “Wait, um, what?”
After four films and nine Marvel Cinematic Universe appearances, Hemsworth says he hasn’t even discussed a Thor return. He was perplexed enough to quiz Portman about the revelation the next day.
“Can I be honest?” Hemsworth tells USA TODAY. “I asked Natalie today, I was like, is that you or me? … That was a surprise to me. I literally said that to Natalie, ‘Are they talking about you or me?’ Because I don’t know.”
Hemsworth says that while there’s no specific plan for Thor return, he’s game when his name is called.
“I love playing this character, and until someone says ‘We’re done with you,’ I’ll keep giving it a crack,” Hemsworth says.
So will Thor battle Zeus and Hercules in the next Marvel movie?
Looks like Zeus (Russell Crowe) is not the jovial Greek god seen in early “Love and Thunder” moments, when he danced in his gold armor while wearing a tutu.
A post-credits scene depicts Zeus snarling, talking about putting fear into humans again.
“It seems to me that being a god used to mean something,” Zeus growls. “Now people just want superheroes. When did we become the joke?” He then looks to his son, Hercules, played by Brett Goldstein, the British actor who stars as foul-mouthed footballer Roy Kent in “Ted Lasso.”
That was a shocker and explains why Goldstein attended the London “Love and Thunder” premiere.
The scene clearly suggests that Zeus and half-human Hercules, who is both a Thor villain and ally in the Marvel comic books, are going to be causing trouble for humans, and maybe Nordic demigods.
Director Taika Waititi claims ignorance on the bigger MCU picture. After Zeus was written into the “Love and Thunder” screenplay, Waititi was mulling a few actors. But he met up with his friend Crowe during pre-production and got hit by the casting lightning bolt.
“We were hanging out having a drink, and I was looking at (Crowe) and suddenly I thought, ‘You’re Zeus, man,’ ” Waititi says.
Russell Crowe rocked “Love and Thunder” as Zeus. And he might bring lightning to future films.
Crowe has already displayed the menace with zany Zeus, trying to entertain the other gods as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) is on the loose. The outfit took little convincing given its resemblance to “Gladiator,” with a tutu twist.
“I’m was like, ‘Wear this tutu thing because I find it funny and everyone’s going to fall deeply in love with you,’ ” Waititi says. “And he owned it.”