A Dwayne who is made of rocks finally makes his MCU debut!
How did Tom Cruise's character in "Cocktail" make it to New Asgard?
And what's the story behind "Ensalada Grande?".
These are the Easter eggs you may have missed in "Thor: Love and Thunder."
One of the best gags in "Thor: Ragnarok" was the re-enactment of the events of "Thor: The
Dark World" using theater actors on Asgard.
Well, even though Asgard is now on Earth, the actors returned in "Love and Thunder"
to perform the events of "Ragnarok" for tourists who are now visiting the Asgardian city.
Matt Damon as Loki, Sam Neill as Odin, and Chris Hemsworth's brother Luke Hemsworth as
Thor all return as the finest actors in Asgard.
Not only that but there is a new addition to the group with Melissa McCarthy taking
on the role of Hela in the play.
Looks like McCarthy's Instagram audition paid off.
"Love and Thunder."
"We could be Love and Thunder."
"Or Thunder and Love."
Taika Waititi returns as Korg in "Love and Thunder" after originating the fan-favorite
role in "Thor: Ragnarok."
But this time around, we learn a little bit more about his alien race, the Kronan.
In particular, we meet the Kronan god, Ninny of the Nonny.
The Kronan god in question is seen sitting on a throne that just so happens to be made
of scissors, which is a bit of a silly gag since rock beats scissors in a game of rock,
paper, scissors.
"I'm made of rocks as you can see, but don't let that intimidate you.
You don't need to be afraid unless you're made of scissors."
Additionally, we learn how Kronans make babies in the film and, wouldn't you know it?
Korg finds himself someone to make a baby with.
This guy happens to be named Dwayne, who is made of rocks.
This is clearly another gag making a loose reference to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
One of the funniest things to come out of the Taika Waititi era of the MCU are the "Team
Thor" shorts, which sees Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder rooming with a human man named
Darryl.
Well, "Love and Thunder" finally went ahead and confirmed Darryl as canon with actor Daley
Pearson reprising the role in a couple of scenes on New Asgard on Earth.
While we don't get a ton of Darryl in the film, it's a nice little nod to the shorts
and, moreover, could pave the way for further adventures with him in the future.
Perhaps he's had other Asgardian roommates during his time in New Asgard?
Hopefully they've been easier to live with than his last one.
"I think…
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm really starting to miss my old housemate."
The music of Guns N' Roses plays a big part in the film and the most obsessive rock music
fan in the film is Axl, the son of Heimdall.
At one point, we get a glimpse at his bedroom and see some posters for other rock bands.
Aside from GNR, we see one for a band called "Mad Titan," which serves as a clear nod to
Thanos.
Another one of the posters reads "Ensalada Grande," which is Spanish for Big Salad.
Don't bother trying to remember if salad figures heavily into any prior MCU film.
This is actually a production Easter egg since The Big Salad was the working title for "Love
and Thunder" during filming.
New Asgard serves as a major location in "Thor: Love and Thunder," with Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie
serving as king of what has now become a major tourist destination.
In one sequence, we see that there's a shop called Cocktails & Dreams, which is actually
the name of the bar Tom Cruise wanted to open in the movie "Cocktail."
As far as references a little more directly connected to the MCU, another one of the shops
is called Infinity Cones.
This is a clear reference to the Infinity Stones and the Infinity Gauntlet that played
such a huge part in both "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame."
Presumably Thor doesn't mind the joke.
"Buddy… you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine.
Don't I look fine?"
"Eternals" expanded the cosmic world of the MCU, and some of that imagery ended up making
its way into "Love and Thunder" as well.
For one, we see a fallen god early in the film that goes by the name of Falligar the
Behemoth.
Of course, this image is taken directly from the pages of the comic book run that inspired
"Love and Thunder," but it also very much looks like the MCU version of the Deviants.
We also got a glimpse at a couple of the ancient beings known as the Celestials, with Thor
and the gang seeing them on the outskirts of Omnipotence City.
"Love and Thunder" features two Thors for the price of one which seems like enough electrifying
power to take down any threat, but even they have their hands full against Gorr the God
Butcher.
The intimidatingly named villain is granted the power to kill gods scattered throughout
the universe by using a powerful weapon known as a Necrosword.
Naturally, the weapon is pulled straight from "The God Butcher" storyline that inspired
the film, but the weapon has a rich history in the Marvel comics universe beyond that.
The first Necrosword was crafted by Knull, the ancient being who crafted the symbiotes.
Knull made a big splash in the "King in Black" storyline, and while he doesn't appear in
"Love and Thunder," the stage is set for him to appear in future movies.
Of course, this is lightly complicated by the fact that Venom and the other assorted
symbiotes are properties of the Sony film franchise, but who's to say what the future
may hold?
One of the biggest Easter eggs in the film connects to Natalie Portman's Jane Foster
and brings us all the way back to 2011 with the first "Thor."
In that movie, Jane is early on in her research which is aided greatly by the discovery of
Thor and the other realms.
At one point, S.H.I.E.L.D.
confiscates much of her research, but Thor manages to make a deal with Coulson to give
it back.
"If you return the items you have taken from Jane."
"Stolen."
"Borrowed."
"Of course you can have your equipment back."
Well, as we come to find in "Love and Thunder," Jane finally managed to take all of her findings
and turn them into a book titled "The Foster Theory" which is referenced several times
in the film.
The notes that Thor recovered for Jane help to craft this book and turn Jane into a world-renowned
scientist.
It's a nice way of showcasing what Jane's been up to since appearing in "Thor: The Dark
World" while offering a bit more richness to her character work.
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