Monday, January 6, 2020

TAIKA WAITITI Estimates “THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER” Filming Start Date


The MCU films featuring Marvel’s Norse God of Thunder Thor, starring Chris Hemsworth in the role, initially gave a prominent place to one of the superhero’s main supporting characters from the comics. That would be his mortal love interest Jane Foster, played in the Marvel Studios franchise by Natalie Portman. Unfortunately her relevance dropped off from Thor’s MCU narrative to the point that a throwaway line from 2017 sequel “Ragnarok” noted that the two have broken up. Jane Foster did cameo in “Avengers: Endgame” last year, and upcoming MCU teasers have it that she will return in “Thor: Love and Thunder” for 2021. But when will its filming actually commence?

As IGN tells us, it may well be soon from hints dropped by the director at a tea party held by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) this Sunday, January 5, ahead of its 73rd awards ceremony next month. According to New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi, who was also at the helm for “Thor: Ragnarok,” filming could begin in the middle of 2020 in Australia. His prospective timetable would have the production crew would begin moving Down Under as early as April, with cameras rolling by August.

The fourth solo MCU film starring Thor (out of nine actual appearances in the film franchise as a whole) will see the return of Chris Hemsworth in the title role. This time however, he will be sharing that role in a way with Natalie Portman, as the teasers for “Thor: Love and Thunder” all the way back to the 2019 San Diego Comic Con strongly implies that her character of Jane Foster will pick up the Asgardian’s trusty hammer Mjolnir and become a female Thor. Waititi, who is also the film’s writer, has also confided that the script was finished.

Jane Foster as Thor was explored in Marvel Comics back in 2014, when Thor Odinson suddenly lost his worthiness to lift Mjolnir. A then-unidentified woman took the abandoned hammer and was transformed into Thor, whose adventures were related by Marvel writer Jason Aaron. The new Thunder Goddess’ name was secret until before the 2015 “Secret Wars” event. Subsequent storylines eventually returned Mjolnir to Thor Odinson while Jane gains a new Asgardian identity as Valkyrie. Taika Waititi gave an epic reveal of this development for the MCU during SDCC 2019 when he handed a Mjolnir prop to Natalie Portman during the Marvel Panel at Hall H.

“Thor: Love and Thunder” is part of the post-“Infinity Saga” Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Starring Portman, Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson and director Waititi as Korg, the movie is slated for November 2021.

Image courtesy of Code List

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