Thor: Love and Thunder

Chris Hemsworth indicated in January 2018 that he was interested in continuing to play Thor, despite his contract with Marvel Studios being scheduled to end with his role in Avengers: Endgame (2019),[17] and had discussed with Thor: Ragnarok (2017) director Taika Waititi what they would want in a potential fourth film by then,[18] saying the next month that he would consider playing the character again if there was "another great script".[19] By April 2019, Tessa Thompson, who plays Valkyrie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films, believed that a pitch had been made for a sequel to Ragnarok that involved Waititi returning,[20] while Hemsworth stated that he would "play this character for as long as anyone would let me", crediting Waititi for revitalizing his interest in Thor.[21]

In July 2019, Waititi officially signed a deal to write and direct a fourth Thor film, with Hemsworth expected to reprise his role.[22] Later that month at San Diego Comic-Con, the film was officially announced as Thor: Love and Thunder, with a release date of November 5, 2021. Hemsworth and Thompson were confirmed to be returning, along with Natalie Portman, who portrayed Jane Foster in Thor (2011) and Thor: The Dark World (2013).[2] Thompson and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige stated that Valkyrie's bisexuality would be addressed in the sequel, retroactively making her Marvel Studios' first LGBTQ superhero.[4][5] Waititi said the film would adapt elements from Jason Aaron's Mighty Thor comic books by having Foster become her own version of Thor called the Mighty Thor.[2][7] Feige explained that Marvel considered the Mighty Thor run to be "one of the best comic runs recently", and that Waititi had been reading it while working on Ragnarok. When Waititi agreed to direct another Thor film, he wanted to include Foster as the Mighty Thor.[8] Portman agreed to return to the franchise after a single meeting with the director, in which he offered to do "something really different ... reprising that character but in this whole fresh new way, is really what I think would interest anyone."[23][8]

Don Harwin, the Minister for the Arts for the Australian state of New South Wales, announced at the end of July that Thor: Love and Thunder would be filmed at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney back-to-back with Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), with work set to begin on Love and Thunder there in March 2020 ahead of an August 2020 filming start. The production was set to receive over AU$24 million (US$17 million) of subsidies from the Australian and New South Wales governments. Marvel Studios vice president David Grant said that shooting the two films back-to-back would provide "continuous employment" for local crews, with Love and Thunder expected to generate over AU$178 million (US$127 million) for the local economy. Grant added that the studio would work with "local educational institutions in creating internship opportunities".[24] In August 2019, Jeff Goldblum said there was a chance he could reprise his Ragnarok role of the Grandmaster in the sequel, and was specifically interested in working with Waititi again.[25]

Waititi confirmed in October 2019 that he would be reprising his role of Korg from Ragnarok and Endgame in the film.[15] He also acknowledged fans "shipping" Valkyrie with Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, but said that he was not intending to include a romantic relationship between the pair in Love and Thunder because he would rather surprise fans than do something by popular demand.[26] Christian Bale entered talks to join the cast in January 2020,[27] by which point pre-production on the film was expected to begin in April.[28] Jennifer Kaytin Robinson was hired to work on the film's screenplay with Waititi in February.[29] Thompson confirmed a month later that Bale would star as the villain in the film,[3] while Vin Diesel, who voices Groot in the MCU films, said he had discussed the film with Waititi and had been told that the Guardians of the Galaxy would be appearing in the film.[30]

Writer and director Taika Waititi at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con

When announcing the film in July 2019, Feige stated that it would be "folding in a lot of elements" from the Mighty Thor comic book and that the storyline of Foster becoming the Mighty Thor would be "a huge important part of it".[8][7] A month later, Waititi was reported to have completed a script for the film,[31] but he denied this later in August.[32] While promoting his film Jojo Rabbit in October, Waititi said he had completed the first draft of the screenplay,[33] but that the story would change throughout filming and editing. He was unsure at that point if the film would include a storyline in which Foster suffers from breast cancer as she does in the Mighty Thor comic book, noting that it was "a really powerful part of the books".[34] Portman later said Foster's treatment from cancer would be explored in the film.[6] Waititi added that Marvel was still discussing how much time would pass between Endgame and Love and Thunder, and that this would affect whether Thor is still carrying the extra weight he is depicted with in Endgame, which earned him the nicknames "Fat Thor" and "Bro Thor". Waititi did note that he wanted to "keep changing it up with Thor. He's so interesting when he's changing all the time."[33]

Four or five drafts of the screenplay had been completed by mid-April 2020,[35] when Waititi said the sequel was "so over the top now in the very best way" and would make Ragnarok look like a "run of the mill, very safe film" by "doubling down on how nuts Ragnarok was".[35][26] He wanted to "up the ante" and make the film as if "10-year-olds told us what should be in a movie and we said yes to every single thing." Waititi added that the film would explore more of Korg's Kronan culture and indicated that it would include the Space Sharks alien race from the comics. He also expressed interest in featuring the character Beta Ray Bill in the film, but said "I just don't know right now, things are a bit up in the air."[35] In July, Waititi indicated that he finished writing the script for the film,[36][37] and called the film "very romantic". On this he said, "I just want to make a romance. I want to make something that I've never done or never cared for."[38] That October, Hemsworth said Waititi was still writing the script and he expressed his excitement for doing something drastically different with his character after doing so for the prior films.[39] James Gunn, the writer and director of the three Guardians of the Galaxy films, consulted on how the Guardians characters were used in Love and Thunder and said they were "in great hands" with Waititi.[40]

In early April 2020, Disney shifted much of their Phase Four slate of films due to the COVID-19 pandemic, moving Thor: Love and Thunder's release date to February 18, 2022.[41] At that time, pre-production on the film had been delayed due to the pandemic, with Waititi unsure when production would continue.[35] At the end of April, Disney moved the release date up to February 11, 2022.[42] By July 2020, filming was set to start at the beginning of 2021,[37] and by that October, pre-production on the film had begun in Australia with filming set to begin in January 2021.[6][39] In mid-November, Chris Pratt was revealed to be reprising his role as Guardians of the Galaxy-member Peter Quill / Star-Lord.[10] Given the ensemble nature of the film, it had been referred to as feeling like Avengers 5.[43]

In December 2020, Feige revealed that the film's release was delayed again to May 6, 2022, and announced that Bale would portray Gorr the God Butcher in the film.[9] Leading up to the start of filming in January 2021, Jaimie Alexander, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, and Sean Gunn were also set to reprise their respective roles as Sif from the first two Thor films,[11] Guardians of the Galaxy-members Mantis,[12] Drax the Destroyer, and Nebula,[13] and the Ravagers member Kraglin Obfonteri; Gunn also previously provided motion capture for Guardians member Rocket.[13][14] Matt Damon was also revealed to appear, after having a cameo appearance in Thor: Ragnarok as an actor playing Loki,[16] while Sam Neill said there was a chance he could also appear, after portraying an actor playing Odin in Ragnarok alongside Damon.[44]

Principal photography began on January 26, 2021,[45] at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney,[24] under the working title The Big Salad.[46] Shawn Maurer serves as cinematographer.[47] It was delayed from an initial August 2020 start date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24][37] Industrial Light & Magic provided the same virtual production technology used on the Disney+ Star Wars series The Mandalorian, in which Waititi served as a director, creating a custom volume space at Fox Studios Australia. The space features more LED panels and offer a higher resolution than the one originally created for The Mandalorian.[48] Filming occurred in early February 2021 at Centennial Park in Sydney.[49]