Marvel fans had their appetites whetted at this year’s Comic-Con when it was announced that Thor was getting a fourth solo movie entitled handing his mantle off to his old flame Jane Foster and Valkyrie searching for a queen to help her rule over New Asgard.
Now, with neither of those storylines revolving around Odinson, exactly what his role in the film will be has become a topic of fan speculation. So, here are 10 Fan Theories About Chris Hemsworth’s Role In Thor: Love And Thunder.
He’ll take a backseat
Despite his name being in the title (at some point in the movie, that name will become Jane Foster’s anyway), there’s a good chance that Thor won’t really have much of a role in the plot of Love and Thunder.
He’s the guy with all the connections, and he’s the glue between the movie’s real main characters – Jane Foster and Valkyrie – so he’ll definitely be involved in a lot of the film’s scenes and action sequences. But maybe when it comes to the actual plot, he’ll take a backseat and have little involvement in the emotional arc of the movie.
He’ll train Jane to use Mjolnir
When Captain America summoned Mjolnir in Avengers: Endgame, he was conveniently able to use it really well. He knew how to swing it, how to channel thunder through it, and how to whack people (especially Thanos) with it.
This suited the plot, because he only showed off his worthiness in the movie’s final battle, and so there was no time for a training montage where Thor showed him how to use it. But Cap was already adept in other forms of combat; Jane Foster isn’t. Perhaps she’ll need to be shown how to use Mjolnir in the same way Sam Wilson will probably need to be shown how to frisbee Cap’s shield around.
Thor and Jane will rekindle their romance
It’s been a while since we saw Thor and Jane Foster together romantically – not since way back in 2013’s Age of Ultron and their off-screen breakup was confirmed in Ragnarok.
Perhaps all hope isn’t lost for this pair and they’ll get back together in Love and Thunder. Fans didn’t take too kindly to their romance initially, but then Taika Waititi’s greatest contributions to the MCU so far have been fixing what didn’t work before, so maybe that’s why Marvel brought Jane back into the mix in the first place.
He’ll help Valkyrie find a queen
It’s been announced that one of the story threads in Thor: Love and Thunder will involve Valkyrie taking on the role of king of New Asgard and searching for a queen, confirming her bisexuality after a scene that did just that was cut from Ragnarok.
Some fans refuse to call her a king, because they think that kings have to be male and queens have to be female, even though there have been many female kings throughout history. Anyway, perhaps Thor’s role in the plot will be to help Valkyrie in her search, much like Black Widow suggested many dating candidates to Cap throughout The Winter Soldier.
He’ll take Jane to Eitri to get a new weapon
If Jane Foster is going to become the new Thor, then she’s going to need a weapon whose power could rival that of Mjolnir or Stormbreaker. Now, she could just take one of those weapons from Thor, but what would really make her stand out as her own version of Thor would be giving her a weapon of her own.
This could mean that Odinson will take her to Nidavellir to get a weapon forged by Eitri. We met Eitri in Avengers: Infinity War when he forged Stormbreaker out of a dying star and Groot gave an arm to give the axe a handle. It would be fun to see him again in Love and Thunder.
Korg and Beta Ray Bill will fight over his affection
When Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes were both a part of Steve Rogers’ life at the same time, they barbed each other a lot and competed for Steve’s affection, since they could both technically make a claim for the title of his best friend.
Some fans are speculating – or, rather, hoping – that the next Beta Ray Bill, a woefully underused character in the comics capable of wielding Mjolnir and the “Thor” mantle himself. Korg fighting over Thor’s affection with this new, more powerful ally could be like Sam and Bucky’s relationship meets Woody and Buzz’s early rivalry.
He’ll still be with the Guardians of the Galaxy
The last time we saw Thor, Thor would be ing the Guardians in their next solo movie.
But since James Gunn’s firing and subsequent rehiring have delayed that movie, perhaps Marvel Studios will be shaking things up and put the Guardians in Thor: Love and Thunder instead. For at least the first act of the new movie, Thor could be fighting as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
He’ll become unworthy of wielding Mjolnir
Avengers: Endgame made a lot of points about the “worthiness” required to be Thor and wield Mjolnir. When he went back in time circa The Dark World and stole his own hammer from that timeline, he was elated to find that he was still worthy of holding it.
Later in the movie, Captain America summoned the hammer, proving his own worthiness, and Thor cried out, “I knew it!” With Jane Foster becoming Thor in this new movie, maybe a B-plot will see Thor becoming unworthy somehow, allowing Jane to step in and take his mantle. This is a guy who has lost everything – all he has left is his worthiness to do his own job.
He’ll just deliver one-liners from the sidelines
Chris Hemsworth has itted that he was getting bored with the Thor character before Taika Waititi came along and revitalized him in a full-blown comedy. It’s clear that Hemsworth has some serious comedic chops and there’s nothing he loves more than showing them off, so maybe his role in Love and Thunder will be purely comedic.
In the same way that a character like Korg is just there to the main characters with the occasional one-liner quipped off from the sidelines, Thor might simply be in the movie as the comic relief to Jane Foster and Valkyrie’s storylines at the heart of the film.
He’ll retire from superheroism
While the first three Phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe dealt with the core six of the Avengers getting together, facing evil as a team, and Phase 4 will focus on those six characters handing off the reins of the Avengers to their successors.
While Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff are both dead, train Kate Bishop to take on the “Hawkeye” name in his Disney+ series. (It still remains unclear where Bruce Banner fits into all of this.) Perhaps Thor giving his mantle to Jane Foster will be his way of retiring from the superhero life.
