A Kate Bush song was cut from Thor: Love and Thunder after the release of Stranger Things 4.
Ever since Vol. 1 of Netflix’s Stranger Things 4 dropped, one particular song that is prominently featured in the new season experienced a surge in popularity. Kate Bush‘s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill” is heavily used in the season’s fourth episode, “Dear Billy,” and is shown to be the favorite song of Max Mayfeld (Sadie Sink). As it turns out, Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi is something of a fan himself.
While promoting Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi was interviewed by NME, in which he discussed his plans to use Kate Bush‘s music in the film, but ultimately cut it following the release of Stranger Things 4. He admitted the following:
“You mean how they ruined Kate Bush? I love that show, but as someone who feels a real ownership of Kate Bush music… I’m really annoyed! I’ve become one of those old arseholes who’s like: ‘These kids never listened to Kate Bush, they’ve heard one song on a TV show! They don’t know Kate Bush! I know Kate Bush!'”
NME replied to Taika Waititi’s comments, acknowledging that Christian Bale mentioned that there was supposed to be a Kate Bush dance scene in Thor: Love and Thunder before Stranger Things 4 brought the artist back to discussion in modern pop culture:
“Before Stranger Things! Yeah, there were a bunch of Kate Bush songs I wanted to have in there. We were gonna have ‘This Woman’s Work,’ which was gonna be great for [a scene with] Natalie Portman’s character. There was actually gonna be a lot of ABBA in the film as well…”
Stranger Things are happening for Thor.
Thor: Love and Thunder showcases some classic rock music throughout much of the film, expanding a bit from Taika Waititi’s use of it in the previous film, Thor: Ragnarok. In a matter of coincidence and timing, it’s understandable why he would feel the need to cut Kate Bush songs out of the film given that he probably wanted to avoid the inevitable Stranger Things 4 comparisons whether warranted or unwarranted.
Here is the synopsis for the Taika Waititi film:
The film finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.
Directed by Taika Waititi and produced by Kevin Feige and Brad Winderbaum, the Thor solo film stars Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Taika Waititi, Russell Crowe, Natalie Portman, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper.
Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters. Meanwhile, the entirety of Stranger Things 4 is now available to stream on Netflix. Be sure to continue following Heroic Hollywood for all the latest news on both franchises, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: NME
