Marvel designer Andy Park explains why Thor's costume changed in Thor: Love and Thunder. Premiered in theaters this past summer on July 8, Chris Hemsworth's fourth solo outing as Thor sees him recruiting the help of old allies like Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, Korg (voiced by Taika Waititi), and Natalie Portman's Jane Foster in order to defeat Christian Bale's Gorr the Butcher, who is hellbent on eliminating all gods. After Gorr is defeated, he requests Thor adopt his daughter, Love.
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As a sequel to 2017's Thor; Ragnarok, Love and Thunder brings back the Oscar-winning Taikia Waititi at the helm, who successfully reinvigorated the Thor series with his signature irreverent style. Love and Thunder was not as critically acclaimed as Ragnarok, though it still received significant praise for its light-hearted nature and visuals. One of the best examples of this is Thor and Jane Foster's new costumes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, the latter of which gains powers and wields Mjolnir as The Mighty Thor.
During a recent interview with Screen Crush, Andy Park explained why Thor's costume changed in Love and Thunder. Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development says that the wardrobe shift was meant to represent Thor's insecurities. Read what Park said below:
That one was challenging just because of the nature of it. It’s what we called “the Extreme Thor.” So it’s as far as we can go. So myself and the other artists, we were pushing it — especially because we’re working with Taika and he wants to push us as far as possible, even to the point that you’re laughing as you’re looking at it. You have to go there where it is. Then once they started liking my direction, from that point on, I’m doing version after version of fine tuning all the elements. He had a version that was supposed to be more toned down; we coined it “The Toned-Down Version” and then from there he sees Jane and he transforms. He gets a little insecure.
What Thor's Costume Change In Love And Thunder Represents
At the beginning of Love and Thunder, Thor's confidence is very high as he fights heroically alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy. Therefore, he doesn't feel the need to overcompensate with a bombastic costume. Instead, Thor wears a more subtle costume at beginning of the film, the "The Toned-Down Version," as Park calls it. Once Thor reunites with his ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster, and sees she is wielding his old weapon, Mjolnir, and has copied his look, he becomes a bit insecure and decides to differentiate himself with a costume change. Thor transforms into his strikingly vibrant blue and gold costume in order to compensate for his insecurities, deemed "the Extreme Thor,” by Park.
While it is often speculated that franchises like the MCU change characters' costumes in order to sell more merchandise, it's reassuring to know that a lot of thought is going into Marvel's costume designs, and they are actually meant to service the story. In Love and Thunder, Thor's costume change serves as a visual representation of his mental state. With Thor: Love and Thunder now available on physical formats in addition to streaming on Disney+, audiences can rewatch the MCU movie with a focus on Thor's costume change.