Love & Thunder Villain Can Introduce MCU’s Old Thor

Thor: Love and Thunder can introduce a new iteration of the God of Thunder: Old Thor. Director Taika Waititi returns to reunite Thor (Chris Hemsworth) with former flame Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who will gain possession of the magic hammer Mjolnir and become Mighty Thor in Love and Thunder. In addition, Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) will be back while Thor: Love and Thunder will host a couple of guest stars from Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and Groot (Vin Diesel).

Thor: Love and Thunder's villain is Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who was introduced in Marvel Comics written by Jason Aaron. Waititi is actually adapting two of Aaron's Thor tales simultaneously since he also penned the saga where Jane Foster becomes the Goddess of Thunder, which was published concurrently with the God Butcher story arc. Gorr is a unique and formidable foe for Thor; the God Butcher is essentially an alien serial killer who has laid waste to countless cosmic deities. Gorr uses an immensely powerful, ancient weapon called All Black the Necrosword and his path of destruction is due to his losing his family in the distant past, a tragedy that he blames on all of the uncaring gods in the universe for not preventing. Gorr is also immortal as long as he derives his powers from the Necrosword and his ability to last for millennia could open the door to Love and Thunder introducing yet another version of Hemsworth's thunder god.

In Marvel Comics' God Butcher story, Gorr encountered Thor at three points throughout history. A younger Thor faced Gorr in the Middle Ages and then the God Butcher battled the Asgardian hero again in the present day. The distant future's old King Thor was also menaced by Gorr. If Waititi's penchant for borrowing from the source material and making it his own holds true once more, then Hemsworth may just get to portray the Old Thor in Love and Thunder. The last time fans saw the magic ax-wielding champion, Thor was still Fat Thor after he drank himself through his depression in the five years between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Thor may get back to his muscular fighting shape in Love and Thunder, but it would be an amusing twist if he then meets himself as the Old Thor, with an eyepatch and white beard that makes Thor resemble his deceased father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins).

Thor has undergone several changes in the MCU and each step has illuminated his character and made him more interesting and endearing. In 2011's Thor, the arrogant God of Thunder learned humility and his time with the Avengers gave him a new appreciation for humanity's courage as he fought alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes. But Thor still was still a step behind his peers, especially Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (Steve Rogers) as a loveable and relatable character until Waititi reinvented him and let Hemsworth's comedic chops loose in Thor: Ragnarok. Joe and Anthony Russo's next two Avengers movies were able to add even more dimensions and pathos to Thor, and turning him into Fat Thor was a gamble that paid off.

If Love and Thunder introduces Old Thor, it would give Hemsworth yet another avenue to explore the Thunder God, this time as a world-weary monarch who has seen countless battles and endured even more losses. But Old Thor would also be far more experienced and have tricks the current Thor has yet to master. Plus Old Thor would let Hemsworth do his spin on how Anthony Hopkins played Odin so that the son truly becomes the father. Furthermore, Old Thor lets Waititi and Marvel Studios tackle the same subject matter that made Logan so successful in depicting Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) past his prime and performing one final act of grace after an incredibly long life of violence. While there's no indication yet that Hemsworth will get to portray Old Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder, it could serve as a worthy end to Thor's story (or at least, to a version of Thor) if it comes to pass.

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