Thor: Love and Thunder ended on a hopeful note, with Thor starting a new chapter of his life with his adopted daughter, Love. But when will Thor come back? Will we see more of the God of Thunder in a possible Thor 5? Here’s what we know.
In Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor goes on a quest with the Guardians of the Galaxy to find out who he is without Mjolnir or the throne of Asgard. However, when Gorr the God Butcher, who wants to wipe out every god in the universe, kidnaps the children of New Asgard, Thor has to rally his friends and fight to save godkind. Korg, King Valkyrie, Jane as the Mjolnir-wielding Mighty Thor all join Thor in the fight.
Thor is the first MCU hero to get a fourth solo film, and it’s a good thing, too, since we only recently witnessed the full potential of the character. After the middling success and the dour tone of the first two Thor films, Chris Hemsworth considered moving on from the character. However, Taika Waititi revitalized the franchise when he came on to direct Thor: Ragnarok. Suddenly, Thor’s comedic potential came to the forefront of the series, and what might have been another stuffy fantasy turned into a rollicking sword and planet adventure.
Taika Waititi on the future of Thor
Before Thor: Love and Thunder came out, Waititi sat down for an interview with TotalFilm Magazine, where he shared his thoughts on where the franchise might go next.
“It’s really fun, the idea that Thor [has] got Stormbreaker, that big axe, and now his hammer’s back and it’s in the hands of someone else. It’s no longer his hammer. It’s the idea that someone’s taking his place. I think a lot of fans are gonna potentially assume, ‘Oh, OK, this is the passing on of the torch’… I’m not privy to any plans Marvel has for the future, but I don’t think that’s the case.”
Via GamesRadar
A lot of Marvel Phase 4 projects involved passing the torch, with Kate Bishop becoming the new Hawkeye and Jennifer Walters potentially taking Bruce Banner’s place as the Hulk. However, Chris Hemsworth said in a 2022 Wired interview that he would “keep playing the character forever” if fans wanted him to.
In another interview with Fandango, Waititi said that although he (supposedly) doesn’t have any plans to direct another Thor movie, he wouldn’t necessarily say no to the opportunity.
I haven’t thought about [Thor 4] as part of a new trilogy, because every time I make a film, I think, “I’m never doing that again,” because they’re just too hard. There’s any film and I’ve done it eight times now. Eight times I’ve said, “I think I’m just going to pack it in. I had a good run.” And then sure enough I get lured back in with a Yankee dollar.
Will Thor return? Rumors are flying
Many fans feared that Thor would die at the end of Love and Thunder, especially since Korg’s voiceover in the trailer kept referring to Thor in the past tense. As it turns out, Thor survives, with a title card saying “Thor will return” appearing on the screen. But what will that return look like? Is Thor going to get a fifth solo outing, will he be appearing in the next Avengers film, or both? After all, he and his brother Loki still need the reunion fans are clamoring for, and there’s the pesky matter of the multiverse collapsing.
Recently, Marvel leaker DanielRPK reported that Thor 5 is in the works, with Waititi stepping back and Marvel hunting for a new director. However, although the rumors are flying, they remain just that: rumors. Despite what you might see on social media, there has been no official announcement from Marvel about Thor 5. That doesn’t mean the rumors aren’t true; it just means we don’t know for sure yet.
So, will there be a Thor 5? We don’t know yet, but we do know that more Thor is on the way. What exactly he’ll get up to remains to be seen.
This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the work being covered here wouldn’t exist.
(image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
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