“Thor: Love & Thunder” isn’t just the return of Chris Hemsworth as the God of Thunder for yet another appearance in an MCU film. It actually marks the first time in Marvel Studios history that a solo character has returned for a fourth feature. There are officially more ‘Thor’ films than ‘Captain America’ and ‘Iron Man’ features. So, that means Thor is totally dying at the end of ‘Love & Thunder,’ right? Well, not so much.
Speaking to TotalFilm, Chris Hemsworth and Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige aren’t dismissing talk of more ‘Thor’ films in the future, after ‘Love & Thunder.’ In fact, it would appear both are excited to see where the God of Thunder goes next.
“Each time, if the opportunity comes up and presents itself, I’m just open to whatever creative exploration can happen, thanks to different writers and directors and so on,” said Hemsworth. “But I love playing the character, I really do. It always comes down to: ‘Is this script different to the last one? Are we repeating something?’ And when it becomes too familiar, I think that’s when I’d have to say, ‘Yeah, no, this doesn’t… I think I’ve… I’d like to exit before people tell me to exit.”
If there’s one thing you could say about the ‘Thor’ franchise, it’s that there is very little repetition. Watching the three ‘Thor’ films in the franchise is like an exercise in divergence. There is a huge difference between the first film and ‘Dark World.’ And there is just an exponential change between ‘Dark World’ and ‘Ragnarok.’ So, if Hemsworth wants it to stay lively, he’s in the right place.
As for Feige, the Marvel Studios President is definitely open to more ‘Thor’ features, as he has already talked about the various stories they could tell.
“I know this: there are many, many other Thor stories in the comics that we talk about a lot,” Feige teased. “And as we watch Chris Hemsworth continue to grow and evolve as a major acting talent, I would be excited to see how he keeps evolving this complex character.”
So, if you’re an MCU fan who has been sure that “Thor: Love & Thunder” will mark the end of the road for Thor Odinson, then it would seem as if you’re going to be proven wrong. Perhaps Thor will stick around and become the elder statesman of the Avengers crew and lead the new iteration of the team whenever that gets put together? We shall see.
“Thor: Love & Thunder” hits theaters on July 8.
