By: John Kenny

You are probably done watching Spider-Man No Way Home and you are wondering what 2022 has in stock for you. Welcome to the right place because we are here to unveil the next most awesome Marvel Movie to you!

Thor: Love and Thunder (aka Thor 4) was confirmed at Comic-Con 2019 and marks a significant feat for Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, who becomes the first Marvel superhero to have four solo movies.

Not even Iron Man managed that (unless you count Captain America: Civil War, but that was more like Avengers 2.5).

Hemsworth isn’t even ruling out further Thor adventures after Love and Thunder, saying: “I’m not going into any retirement period [laughs]. Thor is far too young for that. [He’s] only 1,500 years old! It is definitely not a film that I say goodbye to this brand.”

Thor might just be upstaged in the fourth movie though as Taika Waititi, who directed the brilliant Thor: Ragnarok, is bringing back Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, this time as FEMALE THOR.

Don’t have any idea what we’re going on about? That’s OK. Read on to find out everything you need to know about Thor: Love and Thunder.

Thor Love and Thunder release date: When is Thor 4 out in cinemas?

When the Phase 4 plans were announced, Thor: Love and Thunder was set for release on November 5, 2021.This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

However, when Black Widow was delayed, all Phase 4 movies were pushed back one release slot, so the fourth Thor movie was moved back to February 18, 2022. But then we got some good news and its release was moved forward a week to February 11, 2022.

Originally, the plan was to shoot the fourth movie in August 2020, but now it seems as though the movie will start filming in January 2021, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Waititi actually views the original delay on the movie as a positive thing, as it gives him more time to work on the script. “We’re still writing Love and Thunder,” he said in April 2020.

“And I think it’s good to just keep writing, and then you know, we’ll have a really, really good script. And with writing, especially, you should use as much of that time as possible to get your story right, because you never really get it later on.”

The delay also gives Natalie Portman “more time to get jacked”, as she told Serena Williams in July 2020.

Thor Love and Thunder cast: Who is in Thor 4?

Of course, Chris Hemsworth is back as Thor, but the real news is that Natalie Portman is back as Jane Foster.

She won’t be any ordinary Jane, she’ll be female Thor.

It marks Portman’s first major MCU appearance since Thor: The Dark World back in 2013 as although there was footage of Jane in Avengers: Endgame, she only provided new dialogue for repurposed deleted footage from The Dark World.

Tessa Thompson is also back as Valkyrie in her new role as the leader of New Asgard after Avengers: Endgame saw Thor head off into space with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has also confirmed that Valkyrie will be the MCU’s first openly LGBTQ+ superhero. “How that impacts the story remains to be seen with that level of representation you’ll see across our films, not in just Thor 4,” he added.

Thompson has also confirmed that Christian Bale is playing the “villain” in the fourth movie, while Vin Diesel has confirmed that the Guardians of the Galaxy will be involved in some way.

There is also a real reason to believe the fourth movie might introduce fan favourite Beta Ray Bill. Fans believe that could be Bale’s role, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

Other returning cast members could include Tom Hiddleston’s Loki and Mark Ruffalo as Professor Hulk, but the only other one we’re confident about is that Waititi will again voice fan-favourite Korg.

As for whether Jeff Goldblum will be back as Grandmaster, we actually have no idea. A fake Twitter account raised our hopes, only for them to be crushed instantly, but Goldblum has also teased it.

A somewhat surprise return could come in the form of Idris Elba as Heimdall, despite the fact that Heimdall is a bit dead at the moment in the MCU.

“Listen, Heimdall is essentially part of the god family. So you know, he essentially could be alive. I’m just saying! I’m just putting it out there,” Elba said of a potential MCU return that he’d be up for.

Stellan Skarsgård has also not ruled out a return as Dr Erik Selvig, especially now that Portman is coming back.

“I haven’t heard from them. But I wouldn’t mind. I had a four-film deal and two were used for Thor movies and two for the Avengers,” he said, adding that it’d make sense for Jane’s friends to return: “Me and Kat Dennings, too. We were a good trio.”

However, Dennings has said that she’s pretty sure she’s not coming back. She said: “I don’t think I’m in it. I feel like I would have heard by now. So literally my answer is I have no idea, I have even less an idea than I had before,”

Thor Love and Thunder plot: What will Thor 4 be about?

With the arrival of female Thor in the MCU, Waititi has revealed that he’s taken inspiration for the movie from Marvel Comics series The Mighty Thor by Jason Aaron and artist Russell Dauterman.

“That storyline is incredible is full emotion, love and thunder and introduces for the first time female Thor,” he explained.

Portman appeared to confirm that the movie would feature Jane’s cancer storyline from the comics. “She’s going through cancer treatment and is a superhero on the side,” she explained when asked what female Thor to expect.Marvel Comics

All Waititi has teased though is that we should expect romance, likely a rekindling between Thor and Jane.

“It is so insane and it’s also very romantic. I’m into romances now. I want to make romance. I want to make something that I’ve never done or never cared for. I would like to attack something like that,” he outlined.

The movie will also delve into fan favourite Korg’s background. Waititi told ComicBook.com: “We do touch on Korg’s culture. Where he’s from… if you look in the comics about Kronans, it’s an interesting thing about where they come from.”

Aside from that, Thompson teased that Valkyrie will be rebuilding Asgard and “re-investing in her people”, while Hemsworth has no idea what Thor has been up to since joining the Guardians: “At this point, he might be on the couch.”

However, complicating the matter is James Gunn’s confirmation that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 takes place after Thor: Love and Thunder, raising the question of when Thor left the Guardians for his own adventure.

Thor will likely just make a reference to it in the fourth movie, alongside a cameo in Guardians 3, but this is just speculation on our part.

Could we expect some multiverse shenanigans as there are likely to be in other Phase 4 movies such as Doctor Strange 2 and Spider-Man 3? A theory suggests that’s how Loki could play a role in the fourth movie, despite his death.

Hemsworth is revealing nothing about the actual plot of the movie other than saying it’s “one of the best scripts I’ve read in years”: “It’s Taika at his most extreme, and at his best. If the version I read is the one we get running with, it’s going to be pretty insane.”

Cannot wait.

Thor Love and Thunder trailer: When will the trailer for Thor 4 arrive?

With the movie not out until 2022, it’s likely we won’t see any footage until Comic-Con 2021 at the earliest.

Sorry about that.

Thor: Love and Thunder will be released on February 11, 2022. The other three Thor movies are available to watch on Disney+.