When Does Thor: Love and Thunder Take Place? (Movie’s Timeline in MCU)

Chris Hemsworth’s Thor will become the first MCU superhero to get four stand-alone movies. Thor: Love and Thunder will be an epic film with incredible new characters getting introduced to the universe and some old characters getting major comebacks. So, in terms of fitting into the current MCU, when does Thor: Love and Thunder take place?

The exact timeline hasn’t been revealed yet, but we know Thor: Love and Thunder will pick up where the Asgardian left off: accompanying the Guardians of the Galaxy. At some point, Jane Foster is getting reintroduced into the story, taking place before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the film, seeing that many speculated the God of Thunder would also appear in the third Guardians film. Now, it’s more likely – and confirmed – that Peter Quill and the crew will appear in Thor’s fourth film and separate somewhere along the way. Let’s dive in to see when Thor 4 takes place and what it’ll be about.

Thor: Love And Thunder Release Date

First things first, it’s important to know when Thor: Love and Thunder will be released. That way, it’s easier to fit it into the MCU timeline. Although the release date timeline of the films and series doesn’t necessarily have the chronological order of events in the MCU, it’s a good starting point to fit Thor: Love and Thunder into the MCU.

As things are right now, Thor: Love and Thunder will be released on July 8, 2022. That’s right in the middle between Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, coming up on May 6, 2022, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, that’s slated to premiere on November 11, 2022.

Keep in mind that these dates may change depending on the pandemic situation and the overall trend of postponing films and series. However, the order of release will nevertheless stay the same.

Thor: Love and Thunder has been postponed several times now, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first release date was November 5, 2021, announced at the San Diego Comic-Con back in 2019. Then the pandemic started, postponing the production, so the next date was February 18, then May 6, and finally, July 8, the current release date.

How does that play into the MCU timeline, though? Let’s see.

When Does Thor: Love And Thunder Take Place In The MCU Timeline?

While the plot details are unknown, we have several points to work with. We know that Thor: Love and Thunder will pick up where the Asgardians… um, sorry, Guardians of the Galaxy left off the last time we’ve seen them and Thor together.

Vin Diesel, Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, and Dave Bautista have all been confirmed to appear in their roles as Groot, Peter Quill, Nebula, and Drax, respectively. Hence, the theory about the movie happening during their voyage with Thor. 

However, it’s unclear how big of a role they’ll have or when they’ll part ways with Thor because many other characters have been confirmed to come back or get reintroduced to the MCU. For instance, Russell Crowe is confirmed to play Zeus in the film, while Christian Bale is getting his big MCU debut as Gorr the God Butcher. Also, Natalie Portman is returning as Jane Foster.

We know who, but we still don’t know when? Well, we’re not sure. Kind of? Here’s what we know.

The film was announced as a sequel to Thor: Ragnarok, and Taika Waititi returned as the writer and director. We also know it’s picking up on the Thor/Guardians of the Galaxy voyage, meaning it certainly happens after “the blip,” at least around 2023.

Another key timeline guide came from James Gunn, the writer, and director of the Guardians of the Galaxy series. He revealed that Thor: Love and Thunder will happen before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, not just in release dates but the MCU’s timeline.

That kind of breaks the assumption that the God of Thunder will appear in the next Guardians film provided that Thor 4 will be his final film – it’s not certain yet, but quite possible. 

We’ll have to wait just a little longer to get a definitive answer about the timeline, but my guess is that we’ll start soon after Thor and the Guardians embarked on their space journey, which would fit the time right after the blip. Where it finishes remains to be seen, but it’ll almost certainly be before Wakanda and Atlantis, led by Namor the Submariner, go to war in Black Panther 2.

Thor: Love And Thunder Key Plot Points

The plot of the film will be loosely based on Jason Aaron’s seven-year Thor comic book run. Aaron’s run includes storylines such as The God Butcher and the Mighty Thor – both of which will appear in this film, with Christian Bale playing the God Butcher, and Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster becoming the Mighty Thor – the first female God of Thunder.

In the comics, Jane Foster contracts cancer, and the power of the gods helps her survive, granting her new powers. Natalie Portman herself confirmed that the plot for Thor: Love and Thunder will play into that storyline. Oh yeah, Jane Foster is wielding the mighty Mjolnir!

We’ve never seen what happened to Jane during the blip, so it’s quite possible she survived but developed cancer during those long five years. 

In an interview with Empire, Waititi said Thor 4 will be “the craziest film I’ve ever done,” and we know the guy made some crazy films. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us. Whatever it is, it’s almost certainly not the return of Fat Thor – at least that’s what Waititi said.

On a plus note: we’re getting another Asgardian theater play! Matt Damon is confirmed to return as Actor Loki, Sam Neill as Actor Odin, and Luke Hemsworth as Actor Thor. To add to that, Melissa McCarthy will portray Actor Hela, meaning we’re probably up for a hilarious gag. We’ll update you with more Thor: Love and Thunder info as it comes out.