Thor: Love and Thunder recently dropped on Disney+, and there was one notable change Disney made to the final product. However, Marvel fans aren’t too keen on it. As has been becoming more common, big blockbusters’ special effects work isn’t quite finished when it rolls into theaters. Production companies often tweak effects for the home video/streaming release, and the fourth Thor movie is no exception.
Without spoiling too much of the superhero flick for those who’ve been waiting for this Disney+ release to watch it, there is a scene in which Axl (Keiron L. Dyer) — the young son of Heimdall (Idris Elba) — is communicating telepathically with several heroes, including Thor (Chris Hemsworth). He appears as a floating head during this transmission, and it’s a bit off-putting. The TaikaWaititi-directed flick is fairly quirky and odd, so it kinda works. However, it was apparently incomplete (or the powers that be changed their mind about liking the way it looked).
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The Disney+ version of Thor: Love and Thunder has a revamped version of the visual, and fans were quick to spot it. MCU diehards were quick to compare the two, with many not liking what Disney opted to do to Axl’s projection. Some said “it looks even worse now” and that the company “listened to bad faith criticism and made things worse.”
While this really isn’t that huge of a deal to consumers, with most not even realizing there was a change, anti-Marvel fans (or even Marvel fans who are critical of Phase 5’s slate) were quick to pile on. It’s unclear if Disney will revert the film back to its theatrical print in light of the backlash. As of press time, Waititi and the film’s stars have not paid the viral tweets about the moment any mind.
The latest Thor adventure was released in theaters on July 8 and was a big success, grossing $755 million at the box office worldwide. It received generally positive reviews, though there were plenty of naysayers. (This PopCulture.com writer thought it was a hell of a lot of fun.)
The movie’s official synopsis follows: “Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder finds the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace. But Thor’s retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late. Directed by Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, Jojo Rabbit) and produced by Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum.”
