Thor: Love And Thunder Will Have Thor Dealing With Stormbreaker's 'Adolescent' Mood Swings [Exclusive]
"Thor: Love and Thunder" finds Chris Hemsworth as the God of Thunder in the midst of a mid-life crisis at the ripe young age of 1,000 (give or take a few decades). Hoping to leave his superhero days behind him, Thor's search for a new life's purpose is interrupted by the arrival of Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a figure who's said to be far more sympathetic than your average one-and-done Marvel villain. Further rocking the boat, Thor's quest unexpectedly brings him face to face with an ex whom he still has feelings for.
I'm referring, of course, to Mjolnir.
It was Korg ("Thor: Ragnarok" and "Love and Thunder" director Taika Waititi) who once observed that Thor had "a pretty special and intimate relationship" with his magical hammer and losing it was "almost comparable to losing a loved one." Thor has since gained a new weapon in the form of Stormbreaker, making things a tad awkward when he crosses paths with the rebuilt Mjolnir in "Love and Thunder." Not helping matters, the latter is wielded by Thor's old flame Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), now a super-powered warrior in her own right.
'It's so unruly and unpredictable'
Speaking with /Film's Hoai-Tran Bui, Taika Waititi explained that Thor will find Stormbreaker harder to manage in "Thor: Love and Thunder," especially after Mjolnir and Jane re-enter the picture. It's all based on the idea that Stormbreaker is a relatively young and, in turn, less mature weapon prone to "adolescent" mood swings. He explained:
"Now that relationship, those exes, yeah. That again was something that was really cool because in my mind Stormbreaker, because, you remember the handle of Stormbreaker is made from Groot's arm. So in some ways it's like it's been infused with that and it's part of that, and Groot's a teenager. And I sort of felt like because the weapon's a young weapon, that it should be behaving like an adolescent. And so that's why it's so unruly and unpredictable."
This isn't the first time the Marvel Cinematic Universe has suggested Thor's weapons possess some degree of sentience. For as much as Mjolnir acts as a conduit for Thor to channel his powers into, it can also deem other individuals worthy of wielding it — as it famously did when Captain America used the magical hammer against Thanos in "Avengers: Endgame," prior to being re-assembled and employed by Jane's Mighty Thor. It would seem Thor's new battle axe has its own personality quirks, which will no doubt further complicate his efforts to retire from the superhero game.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" storms (stormbreaks?) into theaters on July 8, 2022.