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Thor: Love & Thunder Now Expected To Start Filming In Early 2021
Thor: Love and Thunder is currently slated to begin production in early 2021, confirms Natalie Portman. Chris Hemsworth's fourth solo outing as the God of Thunder has been one of the many Marvel movies impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Initially scheduled for release in November 2021, Love and Thunder was expected to begin filming in Australia this summer. However, as the pandemic disrupted both release calendars and production schedules, Love and Thunder found itself shifted around, and Hemsworth later confirmed it to be on hold. Its release date has been adjusted multiple times, with its current date being February 11, 2022.
During this extra delay, however, director and co-writer Taika Waititi has been working on the script along with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. Specific plot details about Love and Thunder are still being kept under wraps, but Hemsworth previously shared the story is "pretty insane." Additionally, Waititi himself recently teased that Love and Thunder is actually very romantic, partially because of his own desire to create a romance. At this point, the script for the film is just about finished, which opens the door up for a new production start date.
Portman, who returns to the MCU with Love and Thunder, recently sat down with Serena Williams via Instagram and shared the new time frame for this film's production. In addition to expressing her excitement about starting, Portman revealed they will be heading to Australia "at the beginning of next year" to begin filming.
This pretty much falls in line with what many were expecting, especially because the pandemic is still proving to be a major obstacle for films this year. With a release date that isn't until 2022, Love and Thunder has plenty of time to get all the necessary work in. Hopefully, things will continue to clear up enough that by the time 2021 beings, production won't have a hard time getting off the ground. Fellow Marvel movie Black Panther 2 is also reportedly eyeing an early 2021 start date for filming, and it'll likely be a relief for the studio to get back on track after so many COVID-related issues. Nearly every Phase 4 project has been impacted by the pandemic in some way.
Portman's return in Love and Thunder was one of the biggest surprises from just a year ago, when Marvel's Phase 4 slate was announced at San Diego Comic-Con. She will once again play Jane Foster and will assume the title of Mighty Thor, just like in the comics. Hemsworth's Thor will still play a pivotal role, though, and he and Portman will be joined by Tessa Thompson and newcomer Christian Bale. While it's disappointing that Love and Thunder is still well over a year away, at least there are sure signs of progress.
