How Comedy Thor went so wrong so quickly
After two slow attempts to bring Thor to the big screen, Thor: Ragnarok reinvented the god of thunder with an injection of Taika Waititi’s comedy chops, but his successor, Thor: Love & ThunderShe proved comedy Thor doesn’t always work. Thor: Ragnarok was a crucial success for Marvel Studios and took the character in a new direction after two dark and gritty adventures Thor and Thor: The Dark World. Many praised Waititi’s use of comedy, Chris Hemsworth’s fantastic personality and the new vibrancy it brings Ragnarok brought to the Nine Realms with that 1980s feel, but that didn’t have the same effect in Stage 4 Love & Thunder.
In a recent interview with Happy Sad Confused Podcastsaid Hemsworth about his potential return as Thor stating that future projects must be “a drastically different version in tone”, anything but confirming viewer concerns that the frank comedy of Love & Thunder just didn’t work. Love & Thunder quickly became one of Phase 4’s most controversial projects, in no small part because it ignored the journey Thor was on during the Infinity Saga Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Thor is likely to return in future MCU projects, but there needs to be a major shift in tone if the character is to become popular again.
Why Ragnarok’s comedy Thor was so popular
Released in 2017 as part of Phase 3, Thor: Ragnarok came as a complete surprise to many who had spent several previous MCU films getting used to a grumpy and serious Thor. As it turns out, Taika Waititi’s humorous reinvention of the character hit the spot Thor franchise needed as its comedic textures brought personality, lightheartedness, and approachability to a character previously considered untouchable. The stupid fun of Ragnarok brought a whole new side to the character and helped give more weight to the serious moments, such as scenes involving Heimdall’s (Idris Elba) rescuing the Asgardian people and Thor and Hela’s (Cate Blanchett) final battle.
Ragnarok felt like a breath of fresh air in the MCU as many had considered Thor’s previous solo project, Thor: The Dark World, as one of Marvel Studios’ weakest. Thor started becoming irrelevant in the MCU, with Avengers: Age of Ultron Practically marginalizing the character, so seeing Thor take the spotlight was brilliant. Ragnarok also fleshed out the personality of Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, making his character arc perfect for future projects such as endgame and She-Hulk: Lawyer. Ragnaroks Comedy helped inform his choices in later projects, but it seems like it’s just a one-time deal.
Why the Love & Thunder comedy Thor was so divisive
After the success of Thor: Ragnarokit seemed like Taika Waititi had found the perfect formula that could work for the future Thor movies. However, Thor: Love & Thunder didn’t have the same impact as its predecessor and quickly became one of Marvel Studios’ most controversial projects. Ragnaroks Comedy worked so well that it helped give the serious moments more impact, though Love & Thunder never seemed to let up, only delivering relentless gags that added no weight to the actual story being told. Thor’s bow through Infinite War and endgame was incredibly moving, but all those emotions got lost in it Love & Thunder.
Many felt that despite strong performances, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster aka Mighty Thor and Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher were completely swallowed up by the comedic script where they should have had a lot more clout. The whole heart was taken from Thor’s latest story to save space for the comedy, which just seemed to be beating the same beats as Thor: Ragnaroknot really breaking new ground and even ignoring key story points from Waititi’s own earlier MCU project, Ragnarok. This made what should have been a strong complement to that Thor series and for the MCU as a whole just feel flat and weightless.
Thor’s MCU Arc Hurt Comedy Thor
Thor had one of the most tumultuous character arcs of any in the MCU. After two false starts with Thor and Thor: The Dark Worldand three adventures as a member of the Avengers, Thor finally got his time to shine Ragnarokwhich gave the character a whole new personality that allowed him to stand up to Tony Stark’s wit and Scott Lang’s humor. Ragnaroks The comedy worked so well because it breathed new life into the character, something the Russo Brothers continued to investigate Infinite War and endgamealthough her interpretation of the character combined comedy with meaningful themes.
Since Infinite War and endgame He explored heavier subjects for Thor while also having an infusion of comedy that many thought would continue Thor: Love & Thunder. However, the fourth solo Thor The film completely ignored its Infinity Saga storyline and doubled down on comedy, which felt way too upsetting after seeing a vulnerable and emotional Thor. Love & Thunderas part of phase 4 of the MCU, should have dealt with Thor’s emotions after failing to kill Thanos Infinite War and his depression throughout endgamebut instead tried to sidestep that rich and emotional character arc and move it on far too quickly.
Ragnarok created some of Comedy Thor’s problems
Although Thor: Ragnarok was a welcome change from the character and the darker storylines that had previously been told Thor Movies, it was also where most Thor: Love & Thunder problems began. Despite the emotional moments enhanced by the comedy, Waititi underscored every impactful scene in it Thor: Ragnarok with a gag of sorts, never really taking a line too seriously, even when it comes to powerful moments like Odin’s (Anthony Hopkins) death or Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Thor finally learning to trust each other. More space was needed between humorous moments to give more substance to the plot that unfolds in between.
Love & Thunder took this to the extreme where it seemed that not a second went by without a moment of comedy, with Waititi heavily doubling down on the humour. Unfortunately, that didn’t do the film any good, but rather distracted from the story being told. For example, Gorr the God Butcher should have been an impressive and terrifying villain, but Love & Thunder Comedy made him seem like less of a threat. That worked Ragnaroksince the main antagonist Hela also brought in the humor, but that’s obviously a don’t work twice effect and more care should have been taken to ensure that Love & Thunder was different.
What could Thor’s MCU future be if not a full comedy?
Chris Hemsworth has yet to confirm his involvement in future MCU projects, however Thor is likely to return in another solo film and likely the ones to come Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars Films to round out Phase 6 and the Multiverse saga. When Hemsworth returns, viewers can hope that Marvel Studios has addressed their concerns Love & Thunder, hopefully making changes to how Thor’s stories are told in the future. Comedy was a great change for Thor in the MCU, but a balance needs to be found going forward, just like it was then Infinite War and endgame.
On the other hand, there’s a possibility that Hemsworth could say he doesn’t want to return to the MCU after that Thor: Love & Thunder, especially since his character was given a happy ending and a reasonably satisfying conclusion, though many fans were dying to return and redeem himself. Still, Tessa Thompson or Natalie Portman could step up and score in the future Thor Movies like Valkyrie or The Mighty Thor. Thor: Ragnarok might have introduced the world to a new, revitalized version of Thor, but viewers just have to hope for it Thor: Love & Thunder did not end the career of the thunder god for good.
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