Thor: Love and Thunder has quickly established itself as one of the most controversial MCU movies, with the internet being full of debates about the film’s hits and misses. However, new concept images have shown that the film might have had a very unexpected cameo appearance. And this appearance could have totally changed the movie’s story and fan reception.
Did Galactus almost appear in the movie?
As previously covered on We Got This Covered, Anthony Lee Winn, a storyboard artist who worked on Love and Thunder, WandaVision, and The Marvels, posted a series of concept sketches to his website.
These sketches show various moments from the film and several things not seen in the final cut. This includes images of Mighty Thor fighting Gigantus, Fing Fang Foom, and the legendary villain Galactus.
Making his debut in Fantastic Four #48 in 1966, the giant Galactus has long been one of the biggest villains in the Marvel universe. Known for his love of devouring whole planets and his use of the supremely powerful Power Cosmic, Galactus has frequently fought the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. Fans have long-awaited his arrival in the MCU, with many considering him the logical next step after Kang.
Where could Galactus have appeared in Thor?
These images have set off a lot of debate online, with many fans trying to work out where these images would fit into the story and how late into production they were cut.
Of course, the most straightforward answer is that they were never meant to be featured in the movie and were merely used to visualize how Mighty Thor looked and acted in combat. It would not be the first time that early concept art has looked nothing like the finished product because film production is a tumultuous process packed with friction and changes. Sometimes concept art is made to visualize ideas for executives, producers, and film staff, rather than being made to appear in the film.
However, based on the images provided, it looks like these cameos might have been part of a montage sequence, showing how Jane Foster has risen to the challenge of being Mighty Thor and proving just how strong she is. This makes sense, as this scene would help build Thor’s insecurity and fear of replacement.
This would also fix one of the movie’s most glaring issues, as many fans and critics complained that Mighty Thor wasn’t well established, stripping her of depth and making her feel like a second-fiddle copy of the original Thor. This montage would have helped remedy this by showing that Mighty Thor had been having an active and heroic life while Thor was gone. Something which would add further tension to Jane’s underlying medical issues and her decision to push through them.
However, there are many reasons for the Galactus cameo getting dropped from the final script. Firstly, Marvel likely doesn’t want to debut one of their biggest and most famous villains in a quick cameo. Especially one where it is heavily implied that they lose, as this would instantly break the character’s mystique.
Also, Galactus is one of the few iconic Avengers-level threats the franchise has left, so dropping him here would likely be seen as a waste by the studio’s executives. They know that Marvel fans will pay to see Galactus on the big screen, so dropping him in a guaranteed hit at random, with no build-up, would be a waste.
Additionally, these cameos would have undermined Gorr and killed his screen presence. While many fans argue the movie’s handling of Gorr was far from perfect, his more grounded revenge storyline would have felt paltry when put next to three massive Marvel threats, especially one like Galactus. It would also have removed a lot of tension because if Mighty Thor had gone toe-to-toe with Galactus and survived, Gorr would be no problem for her.
Plus, budget and time could also be a factor. The movie was heavily criticized for its lackluster CGI, leading to one infamous shot being touched up between the theatrical and Disney Plus releases. With this in mind, creating a CGI character as epic as Galactus would have likely stretched the CGI team too far, forcing them to divert their attention from more plot-relevant scenes.
However, while it is fun to speculate about what could have been, we won’t know the truth until Taika Waititi or someone else who worked on the film talks publically about this part of the movie’s development. And, like most things in the film industry, that isn’t guaranteed, especially with how secretive Marvel tends to be about its projects.