A Deleted Ragnarok Joke Made It Into Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi won’t release deleted scenes featuring Jeff Goldblum, Peter Dinklage, and Lena Headey, but a joke cut from Thor: Ragnarok made it to screen — eventually. Ragnarok reunites Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his mischievous adopted brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) after Thor: The Dark World, where Loki seemingly sacrifices himself in battle with the Kursed Dark Elf Algrim (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). The final moments of The Dark World reveals Loki survives and poses as their father, Asgard’s reigning King Odin (Anthony Hopkins), until Thor exposes Loki in Ragnarok. 

In Love and Thunder, it’s Thor who is exposed when he bares all before Zeus (Russell Crowe) and the parliament of the gods in Omnipotence City.The scene reveals Thor’s many tattoos honoring his lost loved ones, including Loki, who actually dies at the hands of Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War. 

Thor’s “RIP Loki” tattoo “was a comedy bit that was supposed to be in Ragnarok,” Waititi told Insider. “When Loki faked his death and he’s reunited with Thor and Thor can’t believe he’s alive, he was to say, ‘I mourned you, look, I even got this stupid tattoo,’ and Thor lifts his sleeve and it’s a tattoo that says ‘RIP Loki.’”

Waititi continued, “For some reason, it didn’t make it into the film, but I was determined to get it into this one so I doubled down and put it on his back. And then [Marvel Studios chief] Kevin [Feige] was like, ‘Can we make it five times bigger?’ [Laughs.] So that’s why it covered his entire back.”

While much of Thor’s back is inked in tribute to Loki, the god of thunder’s other tattoos memorialize Odin, Frigga (Rene Russo), Heimdall (Idris Elba), and Avengers teammates Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) after their sacrifices in Avengers: Endgame.

Starring Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Taika Waititi as Korg, Russell Crowe as Zeus, Jaimie Alexander as Sif, and Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper as the Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters.