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Taika Waititi’sThor: Love and Thunderis one of the most anticipated and pivotal movies of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four slate. Storming into the scene in 2018 with the universally acclaimedThor: Ragnarok, Waititi re-defined the God of Thunder who was finding it hard to match the popularity of Iron Man and Captain America.
Despite being one of the most important characters of the Avengers, the Norse God of Thunder was yet to become a global phenomenon even after two solo movies. The lacklusterThorand fairly forgettableThor: The Dark Worldhad pushed the character to the back who was only known for his powerful lightning bolts.
Taking everyone by surprise,Thor: Ragnarokwas a wild and exciting take on Thor Odinson, the Prince of Asgard. Filled with colorful sequences, memorable fight sequences, and irreverent humor,Ragnarokbecame widely popular and revamped the mighty Asgardian.
Thor: Ragnarok‘s massive popularity promptly paved the path for another sequel for the God of Thunder;Thor: Love and Thunder. Thor’s popularity inRagnarokdid not just stop there. His role inAvengers: Infinity WarandEndgamefurther helped his newfound popularity, which makesThor: Love and Thundera widely anticipated movie.
The fourth installment ofThorwill reunite the God of Thunder and his love interest, Jane Foster, after a long gap. However, his lady love will reportedly take a new avatar in the movie; the Goddess of Thunder. Though it is not yet revealed how Jane Foster will become Thor, one theory does suggest thatLoki might be behind this event, unsurprisingly.
According to Natalie Portman, who plays the role of Jane Foster,Thor: Love and Thunderwill reportedly begin filming next year in Australia. Though the ongoing CoVID-19 crisis has brought the entertainment industry to a screeching halt,Thor: Love and Thundermight have found a pathbreaking way to avoid filming at various locations.
Taking a leaf out ofThe Mandalorian‘s book,Thor: Love and Thundercan safely begin filming next year. According toThe Hollywood Reporter, Lucasfilms’ VFX Unit,Industrial Light & Magicwill lend its support to the fourth installment ofThor.
The expansion of Industrial Light & Magic is also a part of Lucasfilms’ diversity initiatives which also supports a training program too. For those who are not aware of this revolutionizing technology, it is more commonly known asThe Volumeand was entirely used while shootingThe Mandalorian.
Jon Favreau‘sThe Mandaloriancurrently sits at a staggering Rotten Tomatoes rating of 93%, making it one of the highest-ratedStar Warslive-action property afterStar Wars:The Empire Strikes Back. Starring Pedro Pascal and Giancarlo Esposito,The Mandalorianhas received critical acclaim and won 15 Emmy Award Nominations, including one for its visual effects.
The Virtual Production Technology, orThe Volume, includes a LED StageCraft set at the Manhattan Beach Studios. The setup was calibrated for Jon Favreau’sThe Mandalorianwhich made the show’s picturesque sequences possible despite minimal location changes.
The massive success ofThe Volumepromptly led the way for a second StageCraft LED in Manhattan Beach Studios. Another set will soon be created in London for Pinewood Studios. The fourth Stagecraft LED is reportedly much larger than the existing one, and will soon be installed in Australia to aid in the filming ofThor: Love and Thunder.
According to the company, the newest stages are larger, use more LED panels than ILM’s original stage, and offer higher resolution. “When combined with Industrial Light & Magic’s expert visual effects talent, motion capture experience, facial capture via Medusa, Anyma, and Flux, and the innovative production technology developed by ILM’s newly integrated Technoprops team, we believe we have a unique offering for the industry,” said Rob Bredow, head of ILM.
Instead of overly relying on green screens,The Volumeis a curved 20-foot high 270-degree LED video wall made up of 1,326 individual LED screens topped with an LED ceiling. Inside the 75-foot diameter performance space, a variety of physical props and partial sets, created by production designer Andrew Jones and his team, could be swapped out to match the screens and quickly transform the innovative arena into any location you wish.
Added with camera tracking technology,The Volumeis a blessing for crew members who laboriously toil at their screens during post-production. The entirely immersive structure accurately re-creates backgrounds, leading to a seamless marriage between imagination and technology. Case in point, using the traditional green screen forThe Mandalorianwould have been a nightmare for crew members. Hiding various lights reflecting from Mando’s reflective armor would have been an arduous task that would have taken months of work. But withThe Volume, the workload has reduced significantly, and the results of this superior technology are the visceral sceneries ofThe Mandalorianwhich are integral to the show’s success.
Also see:Why Does Moff Gideon Want Baby Yoda InThe Mandalorian?
Jon Favreau, the showrunner ofThe Mandalorianhas also been quite vocal aboutThe Volume‘s numerous uses. In the current pandemic,The Volumecan be a gamechanger as the set’s contained size prevents crowding of actors and crew members, thus significantly reducing the risk of infection.
Taika Waititi, the man behindThor: RagnarokandJojo Rabbit, has also served as director of the final episode of the first season ofThe Mandalorian. Known for using a wide range of color palettes and outlandish backgrounds,The Volumecan be of great help while filmingThor: Love and Thunder.
Also see:Why Did Heimdall Save Hulk Instead of Loki or Thor?
According to Waititi,Thor: Love and Thunderwill be outrageously over the top but in the best possible way. The movie shall also focus a lot on New Asgard and fan-favorite Miek, apart from the God(s) of Thunder’s space adventures. Apart fromThor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi has also confirmed that he will bedirecting aStar Warsmoviein the near future.
The Mandalorian‘s widespread popularity madeThe Volumean integral part of its success. As the fourth installment ofThorwould be using this pathbreaking technology, future MCU movies might follow suit soon enough.
Thor: Love and Thunderis slated to release on 11th February, 2022.
The second season ofThe Mandalorianwill premier on 30th October, 2020 exclusively on Disney+.
Akash Senapati
Senior Content Strategist
Articles Published :373
Akash is the Lead Content Strategist for FandomWire. Having started as a writer for FandomWire back in 2020, he now manages a global team of writers who share the same passion for motion arts, from Martin Scorsese to the latest MCU flick. He loves DC Comics, Anime, Pink Floyd, and sleeping in no particular order. His favorite graphic-medium writers are Grant Morrison, Chris Claremont, Christopher Priest, Garth Ennis, and Eiichiro Oda. Prep time > Aliens.
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Chris HemsworthDisney+George LucasJon FavreauLucasfilmMarvel Cinematic UniverseMCUNatalie PortmanStar WarsTaika WaititiThe MandalorianThor: Love and Thunder
