Here are all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies viewers should see before watching Thor: Love and Thunder. For all of the attention that Phase 4’s multiverse story has received, another major storyline is Chris Hemsworth returning for a fourth solo movie, which is an MCU record. The god of thunder is back in Thor: Love and Thunder to make his seventh appearance overall – or eight if his post-credits appearance in Doctor Strange is counted.
Thor’s return in Phase 4 is set to be one of his biggest movies in the entire phase, though. Thor: Love and Thunder is not connected to the larger multiverse storyline that Marvel Studios is quickly building, and it is similarly disconnected from the apparent Young Avengers build-up taking place too. It instead serves as the potential beginning to MCU Phase 4’s cosmic stories, which will go on to include Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Marvels. As a result, Thor: Love and Thunder is expected to play a pivotal role in setting up what else is to come, especially with the Guardians of the Galaxy involved. The movie, which is directed by Taika Waititi, is not strongly connected to what else has come in Phase 4 and instead focuses on continuing Chris Hemsworth’s journey as Thor.
Thanks to the ever-growing nature of the MCU and the franchise’s interconnected nature, the release of any new project raises questions about what viewers need to be familiar with. Whether someone is rewatching the MCU for the hundredth time or attempting to catch up on key projects before the latest release, parsing through which 35 MCU movies and TV shows to watch can be difficult. Here is a guide to which MCU movies to rewatch before Thor: Love and Thunderincluding where they can each be found online.
Thor
The first movie in any MCU rewatch for Thor: Love and Thunder is an easy one: 2011’s Thor. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, the film features the debut of Chris Hemsworth as the God of Thunder. Beginning just as Thor is about to be named King of Asgard, the movie explores his banishment from Earth and failure to be worthy of Mjolnir. Thor is important in establishing the basis for Hemsworth’s character and introducing audiences to the group of supporting characters who recur throughout his journey, such as his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins), mother Frigga (Rene Russo), brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), best friend. Heimdall (Idris Elba), and love interest Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). It also includes a cameo from Hawkeye (Clint Barton) to set up Thor’s future.
The Avengers
Next up in the Thor: Love and Thunder MCU movie rewatch guide is The Avengers. Directed by Joss Whedon, the 2012 blockbuster from Marvel Studios brings Thor into the larger universe. It is here that he returns to Earth after Loki attacks the planet. The Avengers prove that Thor does not have to be a lone warrior in the Nine Realms and that he could work as part of a team of fellow superheroes. This includes meeting Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), while Thor and Hawkeye interact for the first time here. Thor plays a major role in stopping Loki’s invasion of Earth and is put in charge of returning his evil brother to Asgard to answer for his crimes.
Thor: The Dark World
It has long been questioned if Thor: The Dark World is essential MCU viewing material in general, but it is a more influential piece of Thor’s story as audiences prepare for Thor: Love and Thunder. The often lambasted sequel spends most of its runtime focusing on Thor’s attempt to stop Malekith and the Dark Elves from using the Convergence to unleash the Aether (Reality Stone) upon the Nine Realms. The movie also strengthens Loki and Thor’s brotherly bond and includes the beginning of Thor’s tragic story with Frigga’s death. Thor: The Dark World will be even more important, though, because it shows the progression of Jane Foster and Thor’s romantic relationship. Since it marks the last appearance by Natalie Portman before becoming Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and ThunderJane Foster’s experiences will be essential.
Guardians of the Galaxy
After three movies focused on Thor, the Thor: Love and Thunder rewatch guide pivots away from the God of Thunder to introduce a new group of cosmic heroes. James Gunn’s 2014 movie Guardians of the Galaxy should be an informative piece of the puzzle, as this is where the MCU debuts of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), Nebula (Karen Gillan), and Kraglin (Sean Gunn) happen. All of them are set to return in Thor: Love and Thunder. The importance of Guardians of the Galaxy in Thor’s overall MCU story leading to his fourth solo film also includes better exploring Thanos, introducing Infinity Stones, and teasing Celestials, which are all big concepts leading up to Love and Thunder.
Thor: Ragnarok
Chris Hemsworth’s next MCU movie appearance came in Phase 2’s Avengers: Age of Ultronbut this viewing guide is skipping the movie to jump to the God of Thunder’s third solo film. Thor: Ragnarok goes in a different direction than his story was seemingly on. Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s setup for him looking for Infinity Stones is bypassed in the opening minutes, while Thor and Jane break up by this point too. The new comedic tone of Thor: Ragnarok from director Taika Waititi is widely viewed as a reset for the character. In many ways, it is the start of a new Thor franchise, as Odin dies, the Warriors Three die, Mjolnir is destroyed, Thor loses an eye, and Asgard is destroyed as he teams up with Hulk and Loki to defeat Hela (Cate Blanchett). Thor: Ragnarok is also where Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) makes her MCU debut ahead of her return in Thor: Love and Thunderwhile characters like Korg and Meik will also be seen again.
Avengers: Infinity War
Thor’s journey evolves in a major way in Avengers: Infinity Warwhich is next up in the MCU movie rewatch guide for Thor: Love and Thunder. It is during this movie that Thor watches Thanos kill half of the remaining Asgardians, snap Loki’s neck, and kill Heimdall. Thor goes on to team up with Rocket and Groot after meeting the Guardians of the Galaxy and charts a course to create a new weapon capable of killing Thanos, leading him to Nidavellir and making Stormbreaker with Eitri (Peter Dinklage). The God of Thunder ultimately returns to Earth to play a major role in the Battle of Wakanda. Of course, Thor also comes very close to killing Thanos before he could use the Infinity Stones to snap half of all life across the universe out of existence, and the decision to not aim for the Mad Titan’s head haunts him.
Avengers: Endgame
The last MCU movie to rewatch before seeing Thor: Love and Thunder is Avengers: Endgame. Thanks to the exploration of Thor’s depression after not initially killing Thanos, he gains a lot of weight and begins to doubt his ability as a hero. Avengers: Endgame tracks his journey of rediscovering who he really is, including talking to his mother again thanks to time travel and learning he is still worthy of Mjolnir. Thor ultimately helps fight Thanos at Avengers Compound and take down the Mad Titan once and for all. Avengers: Endgame‘s ending is paramount to understanding what comes in Thor: Love and Thunder too. Thor leaves Earth to be with the Guardians of the Galaxy, which is where his new peaceful mindset comes from, but he also appoints Valkyrie, the King of New Asgard, to replace him. It also would not be surprising if The Blip plays some role in Jane Foster’s backstory.
Where To Watch MCU Movies Online Before Thor: Love & Thunder
With seven recommended MCU movies to rewatch before Thor: Love and Thunder, many fans might already have physical or digital copies of these titles as part of their Marvel collections. However, all of these movies are also thankfully streaming on Disney +, allowing subscribers to check out any of these titles before the movie. For those who do not have Disney + subscriptions, the aforementioned MCU movies to watch before Thor: Love and Thunder are also available to rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu, and other online renters.
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever / Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
- The Marvels / Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
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