In Thor: Love and Thunder, Russell Crowe will play the role of Zeus. He will surely be different in comparison to the Zeus seen in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Those who are not familiar with Marvel’s comic history, let me tell you that the inclusion of a character like Zeus might look a bit weird. Thor, Loki, Odin, Asgard, and many more are actually rooted in Norse mythology. It is a world traditionally away from the Greek pantheon of gods. In Marvel comics, the different mythologies have crossed paths many times. In Greek mythology, Zeus is the god of the sky and thunder. This completely makes sense to make his MCU debut in a Thor movie. It will be interesting to see how Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Russell Crowe’s Zeus get along or maybe not, because of their similarities.
With Crowe appearing as Zeus, which he made the world aware of in such a casual way that one thinks if Marvel Studios was okay with it. It will be interesting to see if his son Hercules shows up in the MCU. But the MCU got beaten to the punch a bit by Zeus’ recent appearance in DC’s own movie universe, through Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Here’s how both the characters would be different.
How Russell Crowe’s Zeus will compare to Justice League?
Zack Snyder’s Justice League was not actually the first appearance of Zeus in DCEU. But it might be his most noteworthy. In the Snyder Cut, Zeus led a coalition of races to battle against Darkseid. They managed to defeat the extremely powerful villain. In Wonder Woman, it is revealed that Zeus has actually fathered Diana along with the film’s villain Ares. He had also personally created humanity. Shazam! confirmed that Zeus’ mythological half-human/half-god Hercules exists in DCEU.
It is unknown how Russell Crowe’s Zeus will be portrayed in Thor: Love and Thunder. Traditional Marvel lore refers to Zeus’ kind as a humanoid race known as the Olympians. It states that they come from an alternate dimension called Olympus. This dimension can be reached from Earth by scaling Mount Olympus in Greece. It looks like these Olympians are the same beings written off in Greek mythology. But it is unclear which deity created humans in the Marvel universe.
Hercules also exists within the Marvel lore. Zack Snyder’s Justice League’s Zeus and Marvel’s Zeus look almost the same. But there is one difference that can be seen. DCEU’s Zeus actor, Sergi Constance is a shredded 32-year-old bodybuilder. But Russell Crowe is nearing 60 and is hardly known for having a Herculean physique at this stage of his career. This proves that Crowe’s Zeus will be older and a wiser version, akin to Anthony Hopkins’ aging Odin.
Zeus and Odin are generally shown as being at about the same power level in Marvel Comics, so this move makes sense. Marvel’s Zeus also doesn’t look to have any familial ties to any of the MCU’s current heroes. It is important to note that Zeus is not always shown as the greatest guy in Greek mythology. It is possible that Crowe, who has more experience in playing bad guys, will play a wrathful Zeus. He might do the opposite of Justice League’s Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder. He might be an evil force that humanity has to fear.
Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to release on May 6, 2022. The film is directed by Taika Waititi. It features Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Chris Pratt, Jaimie Alexander, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, and Jeff Goldblum in the lead roles. It is the 29th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a part of Phase 4 of MCU.
