Thor: Love and Thunder and the New MCU

While the MCU is in full swing, the movies and shows seem to be in an awkward transition. Most of the old films had their stand-alone stories while tying a bigger picture together, that being the Infinity Saga. Now we’re well into the next phase and it doesn’t seem like the stories connect too well as of yet. However, that doesn’t mean Marvel is just sitting on their hands throwing out half-hearted movies. No, these movies are still evolving and changing to stay fresh and creative. Thor: Love and Thunder continued a new tone for some of the MCU characters and we’re totally okay with that.

(potential spoilers beyond this point)

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Thor: Love and Thunder continued a newer trend set up by Guardians of the Galaxy, taking us back to the days of classic rock music with a killer soundtrack. The fourth installment was a heavy dose of the 80s and 90s rockers Guns ‘N’ Roses. Adding similarities in tone and soundtracks makes each character interchangeable while Thor/GotG’s stories overlap. Where it really hammers home is the audience and demographic seeing these movies is a blend between the kids who family-friendly superhero movies are aimed towards, and their superhero-loving parents who also grew up with these soundtracks.

Where the film leans into an even more powerful trend is moving past just silly and fun to more emotional. One of Marvel and the MCU’s biggest pushes was to keep things light, upbeat, and fun. However, if they stayed the course too long, the movies would get stale and seem very cookie-cutter. It started with Avengers: Endgame, showed up in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and now was present in Thor: Love and Thunder. We’ve grown to love each character and have our own connections to them. What keeps us coming back is the emotional attachment to these characters.

With Thor: Love and Thunder they blended a classic Thor storyline with a more recent run of The Mighty Thor. Jane Foster is dying of cancer, becomes worthy of Mjolnir, and is given the power of Thor. The whole movie revolves around not only their love but her understanding of his power and responsibilities which only makes them grow closer. It’s the love between the two that is on full display.

But that seems to be Marvel and the MCU’s new direction. They’re putting even more emotion into these movies and telling familiar stories as they related to their audience. Their success and evolution beyond the adventures of our heroes keep a new spin on old stories which comic books have already been doing for years. We’ve grown with these characters and now the emotion in their stories builds an even stronger bond with these characters. You have to applaud their effort as they avoid the fatigue other genres have faced over the years.