In recent years, the work of Disney and all its subsidiary studios (Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm) in the face of increase and enhance LGBTQ + diversity in your products has been questioned, accusing the all-powerful studio of doing things by halves and relegating queer inclusion to ambiguous moments that can go unnoticed or even easily removed from editing without changing the story at all.
Movies like “Beauty and the Beast”, “Onward”, “Jungle Cruise” or “Cruella” included the already famous (or infamous) “exclusively gay moments” from the studio, scenes where they clapped each other on the back when in reality they were left in crumbs.
The same thing happened in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We recently saw her first kiss between two people of the same sex in “Eternals”, but it took a long time to get there. In 2017, “Thor: Ragnarok” caused a stir when it was revealed the studio had removed a scene in which Valkyrie’s bisexuality was confirmedplayed by Tessa Thompson (who is also bisexual in real life), which caused outrage and fatigue in the LGBTQ + community.
The breakthrough came in March of this year, when it was discovered that Disney was funding the anti-LGTBIQ + law promoter in Florida while advocating for the representation and inclusion of its brand. That controversy grew ever greater, leading many Disney workers to report the situation and take out the dirty laundry, revealing, among other things, that the studio had censored scenes of homosexual affection, including the much-discussed “Lightyear” kiss., which was restored after criticism. As a result, Bob Chapek, the company’s CEO, apologized and the studio promised to improve the situation in the future.
With its latest theatrical releases, Disney found itself in the position of having to give up publishing in conservative territories like China or the Middle East, where Films such as “Eternals”, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” or “Lightyear”, which include LGBTQ + characters, have been censored. In these cases, the studio refused to cut the scenes in question at the request of the censorship agencies of each country, despite the millionaire losses that the lack of preview in those places entails.
“Super gay!”
And so we come to “Thor: Love and Thunder”. Taika Waititi returns to directing with the fourth solo episode of Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder. The New Zealand director recently told us in our first interview that after Valkyrie cleared the controversy on the scene, they felt that even if they left her in the final cut, “would not have been enough”. Both he and Thompson, always committed to the cause of LGBTQ + visibility, They promised that the new installment of “Thor” would confirm Valkyrie’s sexuality, and it did. In the film, Valkyrie is indeed openly bisexual. But beware, he’s not the only LGBTQ + character: Korg (played by Waititi himself) is also confirmed as queerjust like in the comics.
And that’s not all. “Thor: Love and Thunder” has many more queer moments scattered throughout the entire movie. Natalie Portman, who returns to the franchise as Jane Foster, announced this recently during the premiere in London, where audiences asked her “How gay is the movie?”to which the actress replied “Very gay”with Waititi enthusiastically adding: “Super gay!”. The moment went viral on Twitter and people are obviously wondering if that’s true or not.
someone asked Natalie Portman how gay the new Thor movie is and this was her response: #ThorLoveandThunder pic.twitter.com/lxRdQzCP9Z
? Zack ?? (@zacidk) July 5, 2022
Well … yes, “Thor: Love and Thunder” is officially the strangest movie in the Marvel Universe, which doesn’t say much, but at least it’s a step forward.. Marvel Studios have done so little in this matter so far that anything, compared to the above, is already something. But let’s not lose sight of the north. Just because Waititi kept his promise doesn’t mean it all ended with “Love and Thunder”. The queer moments we collect here are appreciated, are naturally included in the film, and can be very valuable to younger audiences, but still little. In a film where heterosexual romance is central, queer moments taste a bit like a consolation prize.
All the queer moments from “Thor: Love and Thunder”
1 Valkyrie kisses a woman’s hand
After removing the scene from “Thor: Ragnarok” that would have confirmed Valkyrie’s (Tessa Thompson) bisexuality, the character is openly queer in “Thor: Love and Thunder”. Although at no time does he explicitly mention her sexuality, there are several scenes Taika Waititi alludes to her, making it clear that he likes women. One such moment comes during an action scene, when Valkyrie kisses a woman’s hand seductively.
Thor: Love and Thunder on eCartelera
Two Valkyrie and Jane?
Another weird moment with Valkyrie comes during a conversation with Thor. The God of Thunder is baffled by the return of her ex Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and she, far from calming him, hints that she too is interested in her with a “We are on the same team”, causing even more confusion in Thor, who suddenly thinks he has competition. This is not beyond the joke, since thereThe film does not explore Valkyrie’s possible attraction to Jane., despite the chemistry so great that it made many sapphic fans dream of a romantic adventure between the two. I’m sorry, girls.
Thor: Love and Thunder on eCartelera
3 Same reaction to naked Thor
Midway through the film, Thor and his team visit Zeus (Russell Crowe) in the City of Omnipotence to ask for his help in defeating Gorr, the Butcher of the Gods (Christian Bale). This is where the most discussed scene in the trailers takes place: Zeus undressing Thor. The Thunder God’s naked body, censored in trailers but shown in the film without pixels, makes Zeus’ servants swoon instantly. But not only women, but also men. Further on is another shot that highlights the attraction of one of the male servants to Thor. As Ariana Grande says in the famous gif of her, “equality”.
Thor: Love and Thunder on eCartelera
4 The orgies of Zeus
This is just a theory. In the same segment of the film, Zeus asks Thor if they will stay for the orgy. And he insists on the subject several times. Okay, it’s not an official confirmation that the King of Olympus is queer, but it wouldn’t be strange if he couldn’t even resist Chris Hemsworth’s charm, nor that everything goes for his bacchanal. We already know how the Greek gods spend it.
Thor: Love and Thunder on eCartelera
5 Korg’s attraction to Thor
Another surprising reaction to Thor’s nakedness comes from Korg (Taika Waititi), his faithful friend and companion, who flinches when Zeus rips his clothes off. But that is not all. When they talk about what happened, Korg admits that he really enjoyed seeing Thor naked.
Thor: Love and Thunder on eCartelera
6 The story of Korg
Korg’s reaction impressed by Thor’s body could have been a simple gag, but later on in the film it is confirmed that the kronan warrior is also queer, as in the comics. It occurs in a quiet moment between battles, during a conversation with Valkyrie in which he reveals that his species (alien race of rock beings), made up entirely of males, reproduces in a very special way: by joining hands on lava until they melt, giving rise to a new rock formation, which becomes a Kronan pup.
Thor: Love and Thunder on eCartelera
7 Valkyrie’s bride
While we might already guess it, it is in that same conversation that we are confirmed, officially and 100%, that Valkyrie is queer. It is Korg himself who has the task of revealing it, underlining it Valkyrie is depressed and has turned to drink after her girlfriend died in battle. Valkyrie hasn’t gotten over her lover’s death and that’s why she’s not ready to start a new romance. She hopes to find out more about that story in the future, but sadly she stays there for now.
Thor: Love and Thunder on eCartelera
8 Couple in New Asgard
This falls more into the speculative category, but in the first act of “Thor: Love and Thunder”, during the New Asgard scenes (set in Norway), you can see what a lesbian couple looks like in the congregation of citizens.
Thor: Love and Thunder on eCartelera
9 Korg’s boyfriend
And we come to the end of the film, in which Korg, who acts as the narrator, finds his sweetheart. In the epilogue, the kronan happily introduces his boyfriend, Duane, with which we see him shaking hands (ie making a baby?). Congratulations to the couple.
Thor: Love and Thunder on eCartelera
10 strange look
This isn’t technically a “gay moment”, but it should be noted that in “Thor: Love and Thunder” it is possible to detect to a large extent a markedly strange aspect during the entire movie. Whether it’s King Valkyrie in costume, Thor as a sex symbol that makes women and men swoon, or Jane Foster’s muscular physique, it seems this film is made for the particular amusement of the gay audience. There are so many rainbows for a reason and it’s called Bifrost for a reason. Gay, we’re winning.
Thor: Love and Thunder on eCartelera
Marvel and especially Taika Waititi (who also gave us an amazing queer love story with “Our Flag Means Death” this year) is worth thanking for finally honoring their promise to take on LGBTQ + representation in one. of their products (Chloé Zhao’s first step in ‘Eternals’ was very important, for the record). But at the same time, it is necessary to remind them that, although we celebrate it, we are not satisfied so easily, that this is only the beginning and that there is still a lot to recover from all these years of fake “first gay characters”.
“Thor: love and thunder” is already in the halls.
Source: E Cartelera
