If you thought you'd seen the last of Thor when we saw him hurtling off with the Guardians of the Galaxy at the end of Avengers: Endgame, then you're sorely mistaken. The God of Thunder is back for a fourth solo movie—the first MCU character to be given the honor of another blockbuster following their own trilogy—with details recently being revealed at San Diego Comic-Con.
There's so much excitement about seeing the strongest Avengers (as he often proclaims) back on the big screen, particularly given how bigwigs at Marvel Studios have revamped his character in recent times. We now look at 10 things that have already been confirmed for Thor 4: Love and Thunder.
Its Title
At San Diego Comic-Con, not only was Thor 4 officially announced but its title was also revealed to audiences as well. Love and Thunder is the name of the latest installment, coming after previous sequels suck as Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok, which were released in 2013 and 2017, respectively.
Reading between the lines, we can hazard a guess at what the title suggests about the movie. The thunder part is obvious—this is a Thor movie after all—but love could be down to the return of an old character we've seen from the past. And with another character set to try and find a romantic partner, it could have different tones than the previous films that have come before it.
Old Faces Are Back
Some of the core Avengers actors appear ready to leave the MCU behind. Both Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man and Chris Evans' Captain America both departed the series in Avengers: Endgame following the end of their respective contracts. However, while Evans and Downey Jr. are ready to pursue other projects in their careers, Thor actor Chris Hemsworth himself can't hang up his hammer just yet.
Hemsworth loves playing the character and he's back, alongside Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, who now appears to be Queen of Asgard. Director Taika Waititi, who rejuvenated Thor during Ragnarok, has also signed on the dotted line to return. And he's also hinted that we'll see more of Korg, who is regarded as one of the funniest characters in the franchise.
Even Older Faces Are Back
While the returns of Hemsworth, Thompson, and Waititi as Thor, Valkyrie, and director respectively were practically guaranteed, those at Comic-Con were left reeling when Natalie Portman walked out onto the stage. It has been announced that Portman, who was last seen in 2013s Thor: The Dark World (barring a brief cameo in Avengers: Endgame) will be reprising her role as Jane Foster.
Foster and Thor were loved up but it was revealed in Ragnarok that the God of Thunder had actually been dumped. It still pained him, too, when he discussed Jane while formulating a plan to grab the Infinity Stones in Endgame. We can't wait to see Portman back on the big screen, especially given what Waititi has planned...
Natalie Portman Will Be Mighty Thor
Foster, with all due respect, has never been the most interesting of characters. She's intelligent, sure, and played a key role as Thor defeated Malekith in the second movie of the trilogy. However, that aside, few were pining for her when she wasn't seen in any of the blockbusters released since 2013.
But Marvel Studios has a plan for Portman's character — and that's to give her the same powers as the God of Thunder, including the ability to wield Mjolnir. Speaking at the Comic-Con panel, Taika Waititi said: "When we were shooting Ragnarok I was reading one storyline by Jason Aaron called The Mighty Thor and for those of you know how that storyline, it’s incredible; it’s full of emotion and love and thunder and it introduces for the first time female Thor. For us, there’s only one person who could play that role… Natalie Portman."
It's Set Before Guardians 3
It really was extremely exciting to see Marvel announce movies such as Black Widow, Shang-Chi, The Eternals and Doctor Strange 2 as well as other projects such as the Hawkeye TV series, Falcon and Winter Soldier, Loki and Wandavision. One movie that president Kevin Feige didn't elaborate on, though, was Guardians of the Galaxy 3.
Given how we last saw Thor hanging out with Star-Lord, Groot, Rocket and Co, many thought that movie would come first. But director James Gunn has revealed that Thor: Love and Thunder will actually come first and added on his social media: "Sorry to disappoint. Guardians Vol. 3 IS happening, but I am finishing The Suicide Squad first." So it appears DC are the reason for the delay...
There Are Nine MCU Projects Before It
While Thor: Love and Thunder is a movie that already has fans buzzing, those same people will have to be patient with the blockbuster coming after NINE Marvel projects. Phase four kicks off with the Black Widow movie in May 2020, with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and The Eternals both releasing in the same year.
Then, next up it's Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings in 2021, which comes before WandaVision, Loki, Doctor Strange In the Multiverse Of Madness, What If, and Hawkeye. We can imagine the MCU will be a pretty crazy place by the time Thor's solo movie hits theatres and we're interested to see how it will all play out across the next couple of years.
Valkyrie Is LGBTQ
So far, Valkyrie has enchanted audiences with her quick wit, willingness to fight and hard-line approach when it comes to Thor and the way the God of Thunder operates. However, very little is known about her personal life but that could all be about to change.
It was recently revealed that Tessa Thompson's character will be the MCU's first openly LGBTQ superhero. Thompson said at Comic-con: "First of all, as new King of Asgard, she needs to find her queen, so that will be her first order of business. She has some ideas. Keep you posted."
Thompson had, though, previously said on social media in 2017: "She's bi. And yes, she cares very little about what men think of her. What a joy to play!" It will be interesting to see how Valkyrie finding her queen impacts the story — but we can't wait.
It Has Been In The Works For Some Time
Taika Waititi directed Thor: Ragnarok and that movie has proved to be one of the biggest turning points of the MCU. It turned the God of Thunder into a genuinely well-rounded character, one who can make audiences laugh but also one whose powers have grown substantially since we first met him. And Chris Hemsworth loved working alongside Waititi so much they even talked about Thor 4 on New Year's Eve in 2017.
Speaking early in January 2018, before either Avengers: Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame had hit screens, Hemsworth said: "We gave cheers to Thor 3. But it was also like 'What could we do with four? We could do this and this.' We were throwing ideas around. But also, just to work together again. That was one of the most enjoyable creative partnerships I've ever had."
And So Has Natalie Portman’s Return
It’s not just Thor 4 that has been in the works for some time. The return of Natalie Portman has also been in the cards, with Kevin Feige admitting that Marvel had ‘stayed in touch’ with her in the years since her last outing in Thor: The Dark World. That’s despite Portman previously admitting that she thought her involvement in the franchise was over.
“With Natalie, we’ve stayed in touch with her over the years,” he said at Comic-Con. “[Director Taika Waititi], who did such a spectacular job with Ragnarok, agreed to come back, had this idea of Love and Thunder and of tapping into that comic story.”
It's A MCU First
One thing we know for Thor 4 is that, just by existing, it's an MCU first. No character has ever got more than a trilogy of solo movies with stories involving Captain America and Iron Man both maxing out at three installments. There's a third Guardians movie in the works as well and we expect Black Panther and Captain Marvel to get two more solo movies of their own.
But Thor will be the first to get a fourth outing, with Chris Hemsworth eager to reprise his role and fans buzzing at the prospect of another blockbuster featuring the God of Thunder. Will there be a Thor 5? That seems a long way off but one can only hope...