Thor: Love and Thunder‘s delay was one of the most painful consequences of Marvel Studios reshuffling their Phase 4 schedule in the wake of Coronavirus. Originally scheduled for November 2021, it’ll now land in February 2022. This means we won’t see Natalie Portman wielding Mjolnir for two long years. But from the sounds of it, the film will be worth the wait.
As has become popular since the global lockdowns began, director Taika Waititi invited fans to an online watch party for Thor: Ragnarok, during which he fielded questions about the upcoming movie. Joining him were surprise guests Mark Ruffalo and Tessa Thompson, and while they all played their cards fairly close to their chest, Waititi did reveal one new comic book element that’ll be in the movie.
“Space sharks. If you look up space sharks, you’ll get an idea of what the film is going to be,” he said.
Space Sharks are (as the name implies) sharks that live in space. Usually taking the form of Great White Sharks, they range from regular shark size right up to hundred-foot long toothy behemoths. They’re able to travel through space as well, crashing into and swarming around planets to feed and breed.
Of course, it makes sense for a Thor movie to include them. Jason Aaron’s run on Thor saw various versions of the Asgardian team up to fight them off, and some versions of the God of Thunder have used them as an interstellar mount.
Despite that history with Thor though, the Space Sharks are actually part of the newly acquired X-Men IP, having made their first appearance in Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum’s Uncanny X-Men #162 way back in 1982. This particular issue sees Wolverine implanted with an alien embryo while battling the sinister Brood, who have Space Sharks as their battle mounts.
Giant rideable space sharks sounds exactly like the kind of thing Waititi would be into, so expect to see Thor or Jane Foster riding one in two years’ time. In the meantime, if you’re craving rideable shark action right now, Aquaman is full of that.
