Every second counts in a Marvel movie. From a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter egg to a critical line of dialogue that will unlock the story’s biggest mystery, fans make the most out of every single minute of screentime the Marvel Cinematic Universe has to offer. So, when a new MCU movie, like Thor: Love and Thunder, is about to come out, the fandom discourse is partly dedicated to one crucial question: How long will the movie be?
With less than two months until the fourth Thor movie arrives in theaters, many fans have started speculating about what the movie’s runtime will be. Marvel Studios has yet to confirm the film’s runtime. And the latest rumors and reports are beginning to create more confusion, causing fans to worry that Love and Thunder might be more of a quick adventure than a long, simmering epic. But Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, might have settled the runtime debate with a surprising update.
Conflicting reports — Last week, two reports were released suggesting two very different runtimes for Thor: Love and Thunder. Australian chain Event Cinema listed the upcoming blockbuster as 115 minutes on their website. If true, that would make the Thor sequel less than two hours long, which is rare for a Marvel movie — and superhero film in general. Still, it wouldn’t be the shortest Thor film, as The Dark World clocks in at 112 minutes.
However, U.K. theater chain Cineworld posted Love and Thunder as 140 minutes long. A two-hour-and-20 minute runtime is more in line with what fans expect from a Marvel movie. Yet, because we have yet to receive an official confirmation, it remained unclear if Taika Waititi’s new film will, in fact, be more or less than two hours. That is until Chris Hemsworth chimed in.
A “full two hours” — Along with sharing the new Thor: Love and Thunder trailer on Tuesday, Chris Hemsworth posted a lengthy caption on Instagram, writing, “On July 8th we’ll be giving you a full two hours of this beautiful madness.”
Fans instantly noted the phrase “a full two hours,” thinking Hemsworth was confirming that the movie is two hours - or at least 120 minutes in length. Whether the Thor actor was responding to the rampant runtime speculation is hard to say. Even though we cannot consider this an official announcement, it is probably the most credible information fans have received so far regarding Love and Thunder’s runtime.
The Inverse Analysis — If the latest trailer is any indication, Thor: Love and Thunder will be an epic movie with a bigger cast and unbelievably high stakes. So, it makes sense that fans would be concerned if the movie clocks in at less than two hours. How could it reasonably fit all that the movie is reportedly going to include? Jane Foster’s return, appearances from the Guardians of the Galaxy, Zeus’ MCU debut, Valkyrie’s new job, Christian Bale’s creepy Gorr the God Butcher, Thor’s rumored retirement, and so much more are expected to happen in Waititi’s second outing for Marvel.
We can argue that the MCU has managed to do a lot with its “shorter” movies, like the first Doctor Strange, which is 115 minutes long. However, given what we know about the Thor sequel (and remembering how brilliant all 130 minutes of Ragnarok is), it makes sense for the upcoming film to be two hours (or more) of “beautiful madness,” as Chris Hemsworth says.
Thor: Love and Thunder strikes theaters on July 8, 2022.
