(SPOT.ph) The Marvel Cinematic Universe has increasingly become more diverse over the years, since its first phase of movies debuted with a line-up consisting of mostly white dudes. Now, we have top-bill characters like the queer, Hispanic child superhero America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), the Muslim Pakistani-American hero Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), most of the Eternals cast, and now, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) returning as the Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder.
While we don't yet have a superhero representing the Philippines within the cinematic universe—who wants to join us in campaigning for Wave, the Marvel superhero from Cebu, to be launched into the MCU?—Marvel and Disney are now highlighting the works of local artist Jappy Agoncillo, with the recent release of Thor: Love and Thunder. Agoncillo's latest, a mural of the two Thor's (Portman's and Chris Hemsworth's), can be viewed over at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.
We recently got to sit down with Agoncillo and hear about what went into making the (thunder)striking artwork.
Also read: The Cast of Thor: Love and Thunder Tell Us About a Kate Bush Dance Sequence
Here's what Jappy Agoncillo had to say about his Thor: Love and Thunder mural in BGC:
Speaking on the mural based on the latest Thor: Love and Thunder, which Agoncillo confirms has surpassed Thor: Ragnarok as his favorite Thor film, Agoncillo stated that he wanted to highlight that the two, equally prominent Thor's are indeed better than one, saying:
“In the artwork, I wanted to bring out this partnership vibe to it. I didn’t want [either Thor] to feel more ahead or bida in the mural. I wanted each one to have an equal amount of space in the mural. I wanted each one to have their own hero pose. I wanted people to recognize this isn’t about Thor being better or Jane being better. It’s about them as a couple, as a partnership, and as a team.”
Besides being an actual god in Norse mythology, Thor is one of the OG Marvel Comics characters to be created by the titan of the comic book industry, Jack Kirby. Since its debut in the 1960's, the title of Thor has gone through many different iterations, the most recent major shift being when writer Jason Aaron had Jane Foster take over for a period as the hammer-wielding God of Thunder back in 2014. Aaron's run was what introduced the Mighty Thor and the villain known as Gorr the God Butcher, both of which are storylines adapted in the latest film. Agoncillo stated he was inspired by that run in particular when designing the mural:
“I was reading a lot of the Jason Aaron run in preparation for the mural. That was the Mighty Thor’s story and Gorr the God Butcher’s story. The artwork there [by Esad Ribić] definitely informed how I did the artwork for the mural; very vibrant, very colorful, very mythic. But also, I inserted a lot of Jack Kirby as well, because I think that’s the core artist for Thor. If you see, in the mural, there are actually the classic Kirby black spots in the background. That’s an homage to that. I wanted to bring in that classic vibe, but also something from the more modern comics surrounding the film.”
“I was thinking this cosmic energy, like the Bifrost colors; very vibrant and a lot of gradients in the background,” Agoncillo stated. “I wanted to have—especially from the key art, like from the posters and the colors that come from that—just the colors that feel very intergalactic and space Viking adventure.”
Of course, being Marvel fans ourselves, we also asked Agoncillo what upcoming Marvel projects he's looking forward to next. “I’m definitely excited for the Fantastic Four,” he stated. “I was a big fan of the old movies and I want to see how they do Reed Richards and the Thing, and how they can differ it from past incarnations. I’m super hyped for that and Blade. I want to see how Mahershala Ali plays the character differently from Wesley Snipes.”
When asked if we could see more collaborations between him and Marvel in the future, Agoncillo gave the classic top-secret Marvel answer of "we'll see."
The Thor: Love and Thunder mural can be visited at the parking area of Central Square Mall in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Also read:
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Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in cinemas.
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