Thor: Love and Thunder — the next Marvel Cinematic Universe chapter for Chris Hemsworth’s god of thunder that brings back Natalie Portman — is less than five months away, but all attention is currently fixated on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the next Marvel movie due in May, and rightly so. Marvel has fully geared up the marketing machine on that front, with two revealing trailers in a two-month span (in addition to wild theories that are popping up). But while Marvel may not have anything to say about Taika Waititi’s follow-up to Thor: Ragnarok, toy maker Tamashii Nations has jumped the gun — and given us our first look at Hemsworth and Portman’s new superhero costumes.
Marvel comic book fans can tell from the attached images that Jane Foster’s (Portman) Mighty Thor look borrows straight from the Mighty Thor comic book run spearheaded by Jason Aaron. (Waititi has previously acknowledged that Thor: Love and Thunder would be based on Aaron’s storytelling.) And anyone with eyes can tell that Foster’s Mjolnir has been reforged from Thor’s original one that was destroyed by Hela (Cate Blanchett) early in Thor: Ragnarok. The Mighty Thor figurine also comes with interchangeable parts that showcase Foster’s elemental abilities — plus a cloak with wires in it that lets die-hard fans set the stage for photos and videos.
As for Thor (Hemsworth) himself, he’s rocking the blue-and-gold costume that was first spotted in an artwork last month. The colours are bold and I can already imagine the banter between Hemsworth and Portman over his fashion choices in Thor: Love and Thunder. Thanks to the detailed images, you can tell the new Thor costume has an intricate design. Thor is sporting his Stormbreaker weapon that was made for him in Avengers: Infinity War — and you can swap it to showcase its own lightning special ability. Naturally, like The Mighty Thor, Thor’s cloak also has wires in it to support your fan content dreams.
The Thor figure is 16.5 cm tall, and The Mighty Thor one comes in at 14.5 cm. Both these Thor: Love and Thunder figurines will be available in June, Tamashii Nations says, and will be priced at JPY 7,700 (about Rs. 5,000 or $67). No word on availability outside Japan, though I’m sure they will be released in more markets. For those in Japan, there’s no option to pre-order just yet.
In addition to Hemsworth and Portman, Thor: Love and Thunder also stars Tessa Thompson as New Asgard ruler Valkyrie who’s looking for her queen, Christian Bale as the villain Gorr the God Butcher whose name says a lot, Jaimie Alexander as Thor’s childhood friend and Asgardian warrior Sif, and most Guardians of the Galaxy members (or Asgardians of the Galaxy, as Thor nicknames them in Avengers: Endgame). That includes Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/ Star-Lord, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Dave Bautista as Drax, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Sean Gunn as Kraglin Obfonteri, and Vin Diesel as Groot. Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster will return from Thor: Ragnarok. Russell Crowe has a cameo as Zeus.
Thor: Love and Thunder releases July 8 in cinemas worldwide.
