‘Thor: Love & Thunder’ is Marvel’s gayest movie yet—and not just because of Thor’s bare butt – Queerty
By Odin’s beard! Is Thor: Love & Thunder about to be the gayest Marvel movie yet?
According to Natalie Portman it is, and we certainly don’t want to disagree with her—have you seen her biceps lately?
At a recent preview screening of the Taika Waititi-directed sequel, one fan rather bluntly asked Portman how gay the movie is, to which she simply responded, “So gay.” Over thunderous applause, Waititi gleefully chimed in: “Super gay!”
Watch the moment for yourself in the TikTok below:
@zachaniff #fyp #foryoupage #thorloveandthunder #marvel #gay #lgbt #natalieportman ♬ original sound – zachaniff
But this is just the latest stop on a press tour that’s seen the filmmaker and his cast hyping up the Thor movie’s queer appeal.
In an earlier interview, Portman—whose Jane Foster makes a return to the franchise to become The Mighty Thor—agreed with journalist Andrew Freund’s assessment that, yes, this is the gayest MCU movie ever. “I love that read of it,” the actor added.
She went on to say that the queer factor—the gay characters, the rainbows, the campiness—all stems from the source material: “I mean, that is the core of the comics—it’s where it all started!”
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We’ve previously been introduced to canonically gay characters Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and the rock-alien Korg (voiced by Waititi), both of whom we’re told will have their queerness acknowledged in Love & Thunder. And, of course, the film’s trailers have promised plenty of moments to get gay Marvel fans excited—not the least of which was that shot of Chris Hemsworth-as-Thor’s blurred out buns of steel.
Still, a little goes a long way here, as Marvel—which is owned by Disney—has had a complicated history with LGBTQ representation in its blockbuster films.
Related: Analyzing the new ‘Thor: Love & Thunder’ trailer for signs of queer life (Spoiler: There’s a LOT!)
In Waititi’s view, it’s “insane” that we even need to continue having these conversations around inclusion.
In an interview with Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, the director addressed representation in Thor in regard to the ballyhoo around Lightyear‘s same-sex kiss, saying, “To think people will go to a movie and go, ‘Did you see those two women kissing’… it’s insane people still want to talk about that. Why is it not normalized?”
“The good thing about [queer representation] in these films, it’s mainstream movies where we get to see this and it’s normalized,” Waititi added. “I think that’s what’s cool. Way more people are going to see that and begin to understand it’s fine.”
@dailytelegraph About time! 👏 #thor #thorloveandthunder #queer #representation #taikawaititi #chrishemsworth ♬ original sound – The Daily Telegraph
So, if Portman and Waititi are to be believed, it certainly sounds like Thor: Love & Thunder is going to give the gays everything they want. But we’ll have to wait until July 8, when the Marvel film hits theaters, the see for ourselves.
In the meantime, let’s watch the last few seconds of that Love & Thunder trailer again… just because.