Don't expect a "Waititi Cut" of "Thor: Love and Thunder" any time soon. Why were some
fans disappointed at notable character absences and a suspicious lack of god-butchering? And
how many death fakeouts are too much? These are the "Thor: Love and Thunder" moments that
really upset fans. Spoilers ahead.
Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher in "Thor: Love and Thunder" looks pretty cool,
all things considered. However, there were some fans who were very vocally upset that
he doesn't really look like his comic book counterpart. While Bale's portrayal of the
complicated villain has been largely well-received, it makes sense why some fans would be upset.
While comic book movies have been notorious in the past for being lax about how they adapted
characters' backstories and looks, modern comic book movies have, for the most part,
been much more faithful.
Director Taika Waititi said in an interview with IGN that he expected that fans would
think a more comics-accurate Gorr looked like Voldermort. After all, his pale, bald, noseless
comic design does emulate the fantasy villain quite a bit. However, at the end of the day,
the Gorr in "Love and Thunder" is still undeniably Gorr, and Waititi felt that the character's
story was far more important than any visual similarities to other fictional villains.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" is a fun film, but it also touches on some dark moments and themes.
After all, the main villain is literally named Gorr the God Butcher, which sounds like the
name of a Norwegian black metal band. As such, fans expected to see more intense, mature
scenes, some of which were apparently left on the cutting room floor.
In an interview with IGN, Christian Bale talked about one brutal sequence that never made
it into the film. Bale said,
"[Gorr]'s a highly religious character at the beginning with tattoos displaying his
piousness, and then he becomes disillusioned with that, and then literally just mutilates
himself to get rid of that ... It was perhaps a little bit too extreme to be included in
the film, but there was a lot of wonderful stuff that we shot."
Great scenes get deleted for a variety of reasons, and it sounds like this one was cut
to make the film more broadly appealing. As Bale said in the same interview,
"Some things can work, some things don't, and we want this to be a family film. My kids
love it."
"Let's bring the rainbow."
The morally ambiguous Loki is a fan favorite in the MCU for a reason. Loki is Thor's adopted
evil brother and eventual arch-nemesis –- essentially the Joker to Thor's Batman. Of course, his
true nature and morality became much more fluid over the years, much like the mythical
Norse god with whom he shares a name.
Loki made his live-action feature film debut in 2011's "Thor" and has been in every single
Thor feature up until now. He's also the star of his own popular Disney+ show, "Loki." It's
safe to say that fans like to see as much Loki as the MCU is willing to showcase.
Unfortunately, it makes sense that Loki is absent from the most recent Thor film, as
there's really no room for him in the already crowded narrative — not to mention he's
currently considered dead to everyone in the current universe. Still, his absence was always
going to upset fans no matter what.
"I guess I'll just have to go it alone, like I've always done."
Sif, played by actress Jaimie Alexander, was a familiar face in the first two "Thor" films.
She was originally part of Thor's group of powerful Asgardian warriors who assisted him
in fighting off frost giants and Loki in "Thor." Those same warriors later helped bring peace
to the universe after the destruction of the Bifrost in "Thor: The Dark World." Unfortunately,
she was mostly out of the picture after that, to the vocal disappointment of some fans.
As such, it was great seeing her again in "Thor: Love and Thunder." Sadly, we don't
get to see her fight or really do anything cool. Instead, we see her already defeated
after having her arm cut off by Gorr the God Butcher. Beyond that, we also find out that
she was only left alive by Gorr so that she could give Thor a warning. Ultimately, it's
disappointing that "Thor: Love and Thunder" couldn't find a more interesting role for
Sif to play.
Fans speculated that the fan-favorite comics character Beta Ray Bill would appear in "Thor:
Love and Thunder." Unfortunately, Beta Ray Bill didn't show up at all -– not even as
an Easter egg, as he did in "Thor: Ragnarok."
For those who don't know, Beta Ray Bill made his comic book debut in 1983's "Thor" #337.
Beta Ray Bill was an alien warrior who -– despite his extremely monstrous appearance –- was
actually an honorable and brave hero, one who was worthy enough to be able to wield
Mjolnir.
The reason why Beta Ray Bill is so popular is not just because he was one of the first
characters besides Thor to wield Mjolnir in the Marvel universe. He also contributed to
the creation of the comic book version of Stormbreaker. Hopefully, the MCU can find
a way to fit him in the next solo Thor adventure.
"Next time, baby."
The ending of "Avengers: Endgame" implied there'd be a lot of "Guardians of the Galaxy"
screen time in the sequel. Some fans even referred to the potential sequel as "Asgardians
of the Galaxy." Sure, that title was never confirmed, but that just goes to show how
the possibility of a true "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Thor" team-up had some fans pretty
excited.
To be fair, the entire first part of the movie is an extended montage of Thor working with
the famous Guardians team. Still, fans who did want more Guardians of the Galaxy screen
time were undoubtedly a bit disappointed, especially since early trailers implied they'd
potentially be a bigger part of the plot.
The death of Jane Foster, aka the Mighty Thor, is one of those scenes that was purposely
meant to upset audiences. After all, Portman's portrayal of the new Thor was charming and
fun, and it's sad when any fan-favorite character sacrifices themselves to save the day.
What's even more upsetting is that she begins the movie suffering from a cancer diagnosis.
While Mjolnir seemingly heals her and makes her a literal god, it is also what's stopping
her from healing while in human form. This means that anytime she's out superheroing
with Thor as Mighty Thor, she's getting closer and closer to death every time she lets go
of the hammer.
Her final sacrifice is extremely well-done, with both Portman and Hemsworth selling the
sadness and beauty of her ultimate heroic sacrifice. Still, that didn't stop some fans
from complaining.
Korg, the lovable Kronan, is at one point seemingly killed, to the surprise of Thor
and his friends. This happens while the gang heads to Omnipotence City, where the different
gods of the universe congregate. The heroes are going there to try and warn Zeus about
Gorr the God Butcher and request the gods' help in defeating him.
However, Zeus doesn't like being ordered around and would prefer to stay hidden in Omnipotence
City, which causes a fight between the Asgardians and Zeus. During the attack, Zeus blasts Korg
with his famous lightning bolt, which causes him to explode.
This "death" was upsetting for fans, who thought that the film killed off such a lovable character.
Luckily, Korg comes back to life, as apparently Kronan's just need their heads to survive.
Speaking of Zeus, at the end of that fight, Thor sends one of Zeus' lightning bolts straight
back into the Olympian's chest, seemingly killing him. This allows our heroes to escape
from the gods' Omnipotence City with his weapon in tow.
However, at the end of the film, during the post credits scene, it's revealed that, like
Korg, Zeus actually survived the attack. He talks about how the people used to worship
gods but now call for superheroes in times of need instead. We then see that he's talking
to his son, Hercules, who himself is a lesser-known superhero in the Marvel universe.
Unfortunately, Zeus' death was so satisfying that it's a bit upsetting that he didn't permanently
pay for his arrogance. Furthermore, it's not like there weren't other ways Hercules could've
been introduced in the post-credits scene –- it could've even happened during a funeral
or something, for instance.
One of the best parts of Taika Waititi-directed films is how he manages to carefully blend
moments of drama with comedy. In the case of Waititi's MCU "Thor" films, he manages
to blend in action and fantasy as well. When pulled off well, this blend of seemingly disparate
genres can be incredibly compelling for audience members.
However, that sort of tonal dexterity is hard to pull off at the best of times, and even
the greatest filmmakers sometimes stumble. Waititi is no exception. While most critics
enjoyed his previous Thor film, 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok," there were some fans who criticized
its overuse of comedy at the expense of genuine emotion.
Since "Thor: Love and Thunder" deals with even heavier subjects, the margin of error
is even slimmer than ever before. And, according to some fans, Waititi wasn't able to stick
the landing this time.
In an interview with IndieWire, Natalie Portman revealed,
"There were whole sequences, planets, characters, and worlds that didn't end up in the movie
that were hilarious and amazing and [that] we spent a lot of time and energy on."
Now, deleted scenes and abandoned plots happen with every movie, and co-writer/director Taika
Waititi responded to a potential "Waititi Cut" with some harsh words. He told NME,
"I've been thinking about director's cuts. I watch director's cuts of a lot of other
directors. They suck. Director's cuts are not good. Directors need to be controlled
sometimes and if I was to say, 'Ah, you wanna watch my director's cut? It's four and a half
hours long!' It's not good ... There's a lot of cup-of-tea breaks in there."
But is that true? Were all the best ideas shown on screen? As we've mentioned before,
there is a curious lack of actual god butchering by the supposed "Gorr the God Butcher." Furthermore,
extending the runtime would allow us to see more of the Marvel Cosmos, as well as tie
up loose ends with characters from previous films. Those would include, according to Christian
Bale, Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster and Peter Dinklage's Dwarf Eitri.
Heck, Waititi wouldn't even need to necessarily add to the runtime. He could have culled other
plot lines, possibly shortening the kidnapping thread or trimming the time spent with Thor
hanging out with the Guardians of the Galaxy. This could have allowed more time to let Gorr's
arc breathe.
After four phases of grand, intertwined storytelling, the MCU rightfully deserves praise for its
unprecedented success, especially compared to other would-be franchises. Anyone remember
"The Dark Universe?"
"I'm offering you a partnership. You, evil incarnate, me, your good friend Eddie Hyde."
However, there is nonetheless a large portion of the fanbase who feel that the most recent
slate of Marvel movies have been kind of rudderless. And this makes some sense, as the previous
phases spent many years leading towards the ultimate conflict with Thanos and the universe-altering
Infinity Stones. Having such a clear endgame in mind meant that even weaker installments
of the MCU had a sense of purpose.
To be fair, Phase Four of the MCU has seen an influx of multiverse stories, which seems
to be the new era's endgame. This started with "Loki" on Disney+, later becoming a main
focus for the plots of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of
Madness," and presumably the upcoming "Ant-Man: Quantumania." However, "Thor: Love and Thunder"
didn't touch on any of that at all.
Now, it's not like the film had to address the multiverse, necessarily. There are certainly
some fans who prefer standalone superhero adventures existing alongside the inevitable
team-ups and crossovers. Still, it's a definite change from the tight plotting that defined
the earlier eras of the MCU, making "Love and Thunder" feel somehow off.
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