An eagle-eyed media professional has spotted the stunning resemblance that the poster for Thor: Love and Thunder has with the classic ’80s comedy National Lampoon’s European Vacation.
Jim Maxwell posted the images side-by-side on Twitter, with the results being a very similar blocking of the characters in the image, as well as Chevy Chase holding up a broken bottle of champaign, surrounded by lightning, in European Vacation, looking very similar to the Stormbreaker being grasped by Chris Hemsworth’s Thor in Love and Thunder.
According to his biography on Twitter, Maxwell is an “Emmy Winning artist” known for visual effects matte-painting, art direction, and illustration. He is known for his work in movies like The Incredible Hulk, The Fountain, and the TV show Vikings, for which he won an Emmy, according to IMDd. Given his acumen for the visual arts, it’s no wonder he spotted the similarities in the posters. Maxwell is also a frequent guest on the YouTube movie review channel RedLetterMedia, so it isn’t surprising he would have knowledge of comedy movies, too.
It is notable that all the poster for European Vacation also resembles the poster for Conan the Barbarian, as one fan pointed out.
However, given European Vacation‘s unique use of lightning in its poster, as well as Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi’s reputation for infusing comedy into the franchise, we think it’s a fair hypothesis there is an intentional nod to European Vacation in the image.
Another fan noticed how the initial poster for Love and Thunder also seemed to resemble National Lampoon’s Vacation.
Other people pointed out how a muscle-clad hero heroically posing on a rock and surrounded by ladies is also a long-held trope in many B-movies, in general.
Another Twitter user pointed to Love and Thunder‘s resemblance to Army of Darkness, too.
We’ll just have to see how much National Lampoon influence there truly is in the upcoming Marvel film when Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters July 8.
