After a year of waiting, Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder is finally here. However, it doesn’t seem to be living up to everyone's expectations. Critic reviews were noticeably mixed, and the audience gave the project a B+ CinemaScore. That might not seem bad, but in actuality, it’s one of the worst for any Marvel Studios project ever.
Despite the conflicted reception, the movie still opened with good box office numbers. Love and Thunder gathered $29 million domestically with its opening Thursday and an estimated $143 million for the entire weekend.
This news might make some fans want to scream in celebration, almost like Thor’s new rainbow bridge-riding goats.
Speaking of the God of Thunder’s new friends, some might be wondering why it is that they scream so much. Thankfully, the film’s director has an answer, and it’s all because of Taylor Swift herself.
Love and Thunder Goats & Taylor Swift Connection
In a new interview with Insider, Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi revealed the backstory of the film’s screaming goats.
Waititi noted that “they were never meant to be screaming” but then “someone in post-production found this meme of a Taylor Swift song that has screaming goats in it:”
“They were never meant to be screaming. The goats were always going to be in there because they are in the comics, but we didn't know how they would sound. Then someone in post-production found this meme of a Taylor Swift song that has screaming goats in it. I didn't even know that existed. So I heard the screaming goats, and I just felt it was awesome. A lot of people think it's me screaming. It's not.”
The song in question was “the Taylor Swift song ‘Trouble’,” which was memed over with the sound of a goat filling in a section of the beat with its scream.
Apparently, the sound effect “wasn’t meant for the film,” but the director liked the idea so much he made sure to keep it in:
“I think one of the vendors that was making the CG goats, they just added the Taylor Swift song 'Trouble,’ but the fan-made one with the goat sounds, and we just thought it was so funny. So it was just a shot of how the CG creatures were coming along, it wasn't meant for the film or anything, it was just an update. And the screams were freakin' awesome.”
Older References in MCU Thor Movies Continue
Many are likely thinking to themselves, ‘how old is that goat meme?’ Well, it first went viral in 2013, making it eight years old—director Taika Waititi was a little late to the game there.
It feels similar to the director’s awkward shake weight joke in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, which also made its debut a good chunk of time after it was relevant in pop culture.
At least with these new goats, the gag didn’t seem like it was directly playing off of that old Taylor Swift meme—it just felt like a classic silly Waititi gag. They seemed to land some laughs for lost audiences, but they did grow a little old for others.
The true test of time will be if they still get some giggles whenever they show up next.
Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing worldwide.
