While the first “Thor” movie took decades to make its way to the big screen (Matthew Vaughn once being one of those filmmakers attached), it was Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”) who helped the fledgling Marvel Studios get the Asgardian superhero flick past the finish line, and is now open to the possibility of a return to the franchise he helped launch.
Recently speaking with Business Insider (via Variety), the filmmaker revealed his desire to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and, hopefully, could tackle another installment with “in the territory of James Mangold‘s ‘Logan.'” The gritty swan-song for Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine that became one of the best outings in the pre-Disney “X-Men” franchise.
“Part of me would love to finish my relationship with that character. I’d always wanted to do more and indeed had a couple of ideas, more in the territory of James Mangold’s brilliant ‘Logan.’ I would love to see Chris Hemsworth and the others have their own individual final story that takes ‘Thor’ into a glorious twilight.”
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“Would be something very beautiful to take those characters into their own particular sunset,” the director said when asked about his return to the “Thor” fold.
Branagh also explained why he didn’t return for the second pic, “Thor: The Dark World,” “Marvel shoots are intense. Marvel postproduction is more intense, wildly exciting, but super intense. I definitely needed to smell the roses. Kevin Feige was very understanding, and so was the cast. I needed a break.”
While the internet has tried to convince us that “Thor 5” is a foregone conclusion and happening, the only person really talking up a fifth installment is an open-minded Hemsworth, who will be returning to the role this December in “Avengers: Doomsday,” and recent CinemaCon footage from last month revealed he’ll be going toe-to-toe with Robert Downey Jr.‘s Doctor Doom (may not survive his encounters). We’re excited for the prospect of another “Thor” film, but this hasn’t been made official by either Disney or Marvel.
That said, we don’t know exactly what “Thor 5” could look like, but there seemed to be minor seeds planted in the last movie about where the immortal god of thunder could be headed IF he were able to be killed by Doom. As the realm of Valhalla was established at the end of “Thor: Love & Thunder” and could be expanded upon as being closer to Middle-Earth (inspired by Norse myths), as it’s referred to as the “Land of the Gods.”
Some unused lore elements may include his canonical brother, Balder the Brave, who nearly showed up in “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” and was specifically added to the MCU canon in “Loki” season two. He also has an uncle in the comics named Cul Borson, aka The Serpent, who could be a great underworld fantasy villain as he’s able to transform into a massive creature (might make for a neat stand-in for The Midgard Serpent/Jörmungandr that kills Thor in Norse mythology). Both Cul and Balder hanging out in Valhalla isn’t entirely impossible to imagine, as it is where Jane Foster and Heimdall now reside.
Until we have some official word on the status of “Thor 5,” it’s nice to hear that Branagh is game for a grand return and trying something different with the character, that’s if Marvel/Disney are keen on that idea.
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
- Christopher Marc
