Thor: Love & Thunder Will Explore Korg's History... And Procreation
Writer/director Taika Waititi says Thor: Love and Thunder will explore Korg’s culture. Despite an unofficial appearance in Thor: The Dark World, the Kronan warrior first appeared in Thor: Ragnarok where he was voiced by Waititi. Following Thor: The Dark World, Waititi reinvigorated the franchise with his unique brand of irreverence. The third Thor film has been praised by audiences and critics as being one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s best. Inspired by New Zealand nightclub bouncers, Korg’s scenes are some of Thor: Ragnarok’s most memorable.
Waititi’s incarnation of the character is soft-spoken, polite, hilarious, and “made of rocks.” After escaping Sakaar with Miek, Loki, Valkyrie, and Thor in Thor: Ragnarok, Korg becomes a member of the Asgardian entourage. In Avengers: Endgame, Korg is seen in Norway (New Asgard) playing Fortnite and then at the end of the film battling Thanos. Korg's early scene in Avengers: Endgame is also one of that film’s funniest and has only elevated fan anticipation for more Korg.
The Kronan is confirmed to be returning in Waititi’s next film, Thor: Love and Thunder. On Thursday, Waititi hosted a Thor: Ragnarok watch party on Instagram live where he contributed commentary; during the director’s live stream, he discussed Korg’s future with Valkyrie actress, Tessa Thompson. “We're going to touch on the cultural specificity of Korg's... history. There's interesting history in the comics about Kronans about how they... procreate."
In the comics, Kronans are genderless (or all male). As revealed in World War Hulk: Aftersmash: Warbound #4, the humanoid race reproduces by joining hands in a river of lava; Kronan infants are formed when two adults then break apart. This is not to say that Waititi won't alter this; the Korg we see in the MCU departs from his comic book counterpart in many ways. In the comics, Kronans hail from the planet Ria and their silicon-based bodies are orange. And Korg, instead of being a source of comic relief, is a much more serious character. However, both iterations of Korg become a gladiator on Sakaar.
Korg's backstory in the comics, which sees him captured and forced to kill his own brother, is darker than Waititi’s lovable warrior. All we are told about Korg’s history in the MCU amounts to “I tried to start a revolution...but didn’t print enough pamphlets so hardly anyone turned up. Except for my mum and her boyfriend, who I hate.” Korg’s mother and her boyfriend aside, how Kronan culture, gender or procreation manifests itself in Thor: Love and Thunder (if at all) is anyone’s guess. Knowing Waititi, it’s sure to be good for a laugh.
Source: Taika Waititi/Instagram