Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder will soon become the first Marvel hero to lead four solo outings in the MCU with Thor: Love and Thunder, and he will be joined by an expansive cast of popular characters and star-studded actors. Among the most notable inclusions are Valkyrie, Jane Foster, Korg, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, on top of the debut of Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher.
Having now spent over ten years in the MCU as one of the original Avengers, Thor has accrued himself a massive fan base, naturally leading to huge excitement for his return. This excitement is only further fueled by the huge cast joining him, along with interest in seeing Bale return to the superhero genre for the first time since he led The Dark Knight trilogy as Batman.
With anticipation being so high to see how director and writer Taika Waititi bring together his ensemble of award-winning actors and fan-favorite characters, who are fans most excited to see come to screens? A recent poll has answered exactly that question.
Poll Reveals Summer's Most Anticipated Movie Characters
Fandango conducted polls to determine the heroes, villains, and sidekicks that audiences are most excited to see in this summer's movies, including five characters from Thor: Love and Thunder.
Chris Hemsworth's Thor topped the list of the most anticipated heroes, which also included Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie and Natalie Portman's Jane Foster. The two remaining spots were padded out by Jurassic World: Dominion's Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm, as well as Tom Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick lead.
In terms of the most anticipated sidekicks, Taika Waititi's Korg took the top spot, followed by Jurassic World: Dominion's Blue, the Minions, Top Gun: Maverick's new generation of pilots, and Lightyear's Sox.
As expected, Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher proved to be the most anticipated villain, with other contenders including Nope's mysterious opposition, Bullet Train's assassins, Tom Hanks' Elvis antagonist, and Ethan Hawke's horror villain from The Black Phone.
The 15 collective spots across the three lists included five Love and Thunder characters: Thor, Valkyrie, Jane Foster, Korg, and Gorr the God Butcher.
Who Will Be the Standout of Thor: Love and Thunder?
Marvel Studios has truly packed out Thor: Love and Thunder with a star-studded cast, all of whom have more than their fair share of experience in the comic book genre. But who will be the standout everybody is talking about when the film finally releases?
After over a decade in the MCU, Chris Hemsworth has become more than familiar with his Asgardian hero and there's no doubt he will soon deliver his best performance as Thor yet. Meanwhile, it will be intriguing to see how Natalie Portman handles her new heroic role, especially after eight years away from the Marvel universe.
Academy Award winner Christian Bale ought to offer one of the best performances in MCU history, possibly even bringing Gorr the God Butcher near the top of the list of superhero villains. After all, given Bale's prestigious status as an actor, it will have taken a phenomenal script and role to pique his interest, leading to his second comic book role after playing Batman in The Dark Knight trilogy.
With Taika Waititi bringing it all together after winning an Oscar for the screenplay of Jojo Rabbit, Love and Thunder has the potential to land in the upper echelon of the MCU. Anticipation is clearly high for the fourth Thor solo outing and its many characters, so fans can only hope the cast and crew deliver on expectations when the film hits theaters on July 8.
