The MCU’s Thor is stuck in a rut right now, but it might not be too late to salvage his character arc and cap off his journey with a great ending. The God of Thunder’s on-screen adventures began with two self-serious solo movies, a mostly expository role in The Avengers, and a distracting B-plot in Avengers: Age of Ultron in which he took a bath and daydreamed about the Infinity Stones. Thor quickly made a name for himself as the most boring and expendable Avenger. Then, Taika Waititi turned it all around with Thor: Ragnarok, which reimagined Thor as a comedic character and reimagined his world as a colorful ‘80s space opera like Flash Gordon. This comedic take on Thor took some tragic turns in the next two Avengers films, Infinity War and Endgame, which felt like the apex of his arc. But ever since then, Thor’s Marvel adventures have felt aimless. Thor: Love and Thunder just felt like a rehash of Ragnarok that didn’t bring anything new to the table. Can Marvel salvage Thor after Love and Thunder or should the studio just cut its losses and end his story on a low note?
Chris Hemsworth recently told Vanity Fair that he found out he’s genetically predisposed to develop Alzheimer’s disease later in life, which has led to some major changes in his career plans. Hemsworth isn’t retiring from acting, but he is taking a more careful approach to the projects he signs up for. He won’t spend time away from his family to make a movie unless he feels really passionately about the project. In an interview with the Spanish magazine AccionCine, Hemsworth elaborated on his future as Thor and said that he’d be open to returning if there was a story worth telling: “It all depends on the type of story. It has to be something unique. What I don’t want is to do the same with the character until the end, until there is a feeling of exhaustion in the audience. But if there is expectation for it, I am always willing to return. If there is a new story, it has to be something very special.” So, what kind of Thor story would be worth Hemsworth’s while?
Thor Feels Stuck In Limbo
In theory, keeping Thor around after the conclusive events of Avengers: Endgame was a great move for the character. Unlike mortal humans like Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner, the decade-long “Infinity Saga” was just a tiny footnote in Thor’s 1,500-year existence, and continuing to tell his stories helped to demonstrate that. But, as Thor: Love and Thunder proved, there’s really nowhere else to go with this character. Throughout Infinity War and Endgame, Thor lost everything, fell into a deep depression, pulled himself out of it, saved the universe, and achieved inner peace.
It would be another story if Love and Thunder had been met with the same overwhelming acclaim as Ragnarok, but it received mixed reviews from critics and a lukewarm response from fans. The humor was hit-and-miss, the tone was all over the place, and the script squandered its most promising elements from the source material (e.g. Gorr the so-called “God Butcher” only butchers one god on-screen, and that’s in self-defense). With Hemsworth unsure about returning to the role and the MCU moving on to other storylines like The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, the character of Thor feels like he’s stuck in a kind of creative limbo.
Marvel’s best shot is to give the Thor franchise a big finale to conclude the God of Thunder’s character arc. Thor needs his own Logan-style end-of-the-road last hoorah helmed by a new director with a fresh vision, much like Waititi did with Ragnarok. After a pseudo-Shakespearean Thor movie, a medieval fantasy Thor movie, and a couple of zany, comedic, Big Trouble in Little China-style Thor movies, Thor 5 can be a gritty all-action epic like The Northman. Love and Thunder already set up the perfect storyline with Hercules being sent to hunt down Thor. Thor’s story can’t keep going on indefinitely; it needs an ending.
Loki Has Been Outshining His Brother
No one could have predicted that a posthumous Loki would overshadow an alive-and-well Thor throughout the MCU’s Phase Four. But, against all odds, Loki became one of Marvel’s key players while Thor vanished to the sidelines. Loki’s Disney+ series was one of the most acclaimed entries in Phase Four, praised for its offbeat tone, stellar acting, and unlimited imagination. Thor: Love and Thunder, on the other hand, was one of Phase Four’s most divisive projects. Not only is the Loki series a standout Marvel project in its own right; it’s also one of the most integral parts of the ongoing “Multiverse Saga,” introducing a bunch of alternate universes and the MCU’s next big bad, Kang the Conqueror (or, at least, a variant of him). Thor might be better off taking a supporting role in his brother’s wildly successful streaming series instead of trudging through another by-the-numbers solo adventure.
Can There Be A Different Thor?
Maybe it would be a good idea to free Hemsworth of his Marvel commitments and start fresh with an entirely different Thor story and a new actor in the role. A couple of years ago, it would’ve seemed like heresy to even consider recasting one of the core Avengers. It’s still an idea that should be largely avoided. Marvel shouldn’t tell an Iron Man story without Robert Downey, Jr. or a Captain America story without Chris Evans. But it could work for Thor.
Whereas Downey’s Tony Stark and Evans’ Steve Rogers had clear-cut character arcs that built organically to the perfect conclusion, Hemsworth’s Thor has had a much bumpier road. He’s had euphoric highs (Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War) and crushing lows (Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Love and Thunder). It might not be such a terrible idea to just start over with a new actor, especially with the possibilities opened up by the multiverse.