Thor 4: Villains, Heroes and Comics Taika Waititi Could Use

The God of Thunder is in the wind now.

Big MCU news just struck like a bolt of lightning: Taika Waititi is returning to write and direct Thor 4. For the first time, an MCU solo franchise is receiving a fourth installment, and after Thor: Ragnarok eclipsed the previous Thor films in critical and commercial success (93% on RottenTomatoes and $854 million at the global box office), it makes sense that Marvel wants to collaborate with Waititi again. With star Chris Hemsworth reportedly expected to return in the title role, that leaves us with the question: what is Thor 4 even about?

After all, Asgard is destroyed, Loki is dead (again), and by the end of Avengers: Endgame, Thor stated he has no path. Yet given what has happened to Thor over the past several films starting with Ragnarok, perhaps “having no path” is exactly what he needs.

Recapping’s Thor’s MCU Journey

The Thor franchise is maybe the strangest solo series in the MCU because of how it underwent such a radical overhaul from its original direction. Kenneth Branagh brought his Shakespearean sensibilities to the original film, and the trajectory he started was continued in its direct follow-up, Thor: The Dark World. Both of those films sought to build the mythology around Thor, the Nine Realms, his romance with Jane and seemingly leading to Thor accepting his destiny as king, until he rejected said destiny at the end of TDW to start a new life among humanity.
Yet after Avengers: Age of Ultron, all of that changed. Ragnarok was such a seismic shift to the series that it bordered on hostility to the previous installments: the mythology of Asgard was a lie, built on Odin’s bloodshed and conquest alongside his true firstborn Hela, a monstrous villain erased from her people’s history. Thor and Jane’s romance was kicked to the curb with a throwaway line that some people might not even have caught. And while Thor came to understand that being a king was about leading his people rather than ruling a kingdom, the events of Infinity War and Endgame led him to reconsider that position. Giving up that destiny and bequeathing it to Valkyrie has finally liberated him from the shackles of what he was “supposed to be.” He still fulfilled his aim (giving his people a future under a responsible leader) while accepting that that wasn’t his place.

The Creative Direction Thor 4 Could Take

At the end of Endgame, Thor left Earth with the Guardians of the Galaxy, causing speculation that perhaps Thor would have a major role in James Gunn’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. With the news of a fourth Thor film dropping, that likely precludes Thor from also being a major part of Guardians 3, and Gunn presumably wants to focus on his own set of characters in the conclusion of their trilogy rather than dealing with major crossovers. However, while Thor probably isn’t going to become a card-carrying member of the Guardians, his leaving with them does foreshadow a possible new direction for his character: that of a wandering adventurer, searching the cosmos for his own purpose. The Guardians operate in much the same fashion, with many viewers noting how their zany adventures from place to place across the galaxy felt similar to the tone and style of Thor: Ragnarok.

Thor going more cosmic and not returning to the well of his previously established mythology also makes sense considering that Asgard is destroyed and most of the Nine Realms have already been visited in the films, with Alfheim being the only one to not yet be seen. And given that many members of Thor’s supporting cast (Odin, Frigga, Loki, Heimdall, the Warriors Three) are dead and gone, most of the connective tissue to his old life has been severed. Now is the time for him to chart his own course, perhaps by retrofitting other elements of Marvel cosmic lore into his own films, something Waititi did to great effect with the Grandmaster, one of the Elders of the Universe in the comics, turning him into a scene-stealing character in Ragnarok. Taking Thor in new directions is what led the character to such success recently, and shirking convention is what made Waititi such a beloved figure for the franchise.
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Heroes and Villains That Could Show Up in Thor 4

Yet that doesn’t mean we should expect Marvel to completely reinvent Thor to the point his next outing is utterly unrecognizable from his comic roots. With a more cosmic journey, this would be the perfect time to introduce fan-favourite character Beta Ray Bill, a member of the alien race known as the Korbinites, who in the comics was the original wielder of Stormbreaker, the axe Thor was given in Infinity War. There was even an easter egg relating to Bill in Ragnarok: a sculpture of what appeared to be his head was part of the Grandmaster’s palace. Like Thor, Bill is a paragon of his race who was chosen to lead his species to a new home, and while there was no mention of Surtur menacing the Korbinities in Ragnarok like he did in the comics, Thor might find purpose in aiding Bill in his journey to help his own people as recompense for nearly failing the Asgardians.

As for villains, there are still some heavy hitters who haven’t appeared yet in the films. Mangog was the physical embodiment of the rage of an alien race Odin wiped from existence, and not only would that easily play into Odin and Hela’s history established in Ragnarok, but Mangog could also be a haunting reminder of the sins of his lineage that Thor would arguably be trying to outrun by leaving his people and traveling the galaxy.
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Another character many fans are interested in seeing is Gorr the God Butcher, and although certain elements of Gorr’s powers were given to Hela, a retooled version of the villain hunting Thor across the galaxy could still work. While Thor would be wandering the cosmos looking for any semblance of purpose, Gorr is someone who has resigned himself to one goal he pursues with ruthless determination: the elimination of any and all gods, and the God of Thunder is most certainly on his list.

And with Loki having escaped with the Tesseract in one of the branching timelines in Endgame, the God of Mischief could still make another return in the films, unless that was a setup for his Disney+ series as has been theorized by fans. Even if that’s the case, Loki has been reincarnated as a child in the comics, so perhaps Thor will meet his brother again in this new form and get a second chance at making sure he turns out alright.

Marvel Comics Thor 4 Could Adapt

While the comics commonly chronicle Thor’s adventures on Earth and among the Nine Realms, a Thor who is travelling space and helping those in need would encounter all sorts of cosmic beings, and with the Fantastic Four and X-Men rights having returned to Marvel, even more of Marvel’s cosmic lore could be used in one of Thor’s movies. Perhaps Thor could even run into the Devourer of Worlds himself, Galactus, like he did in Thor #160 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby: “And Now... Galactus!” Thor interfered in a battle between Galactus and Ego the Living Planet to help the people who would be destroyed in their confrontation, particularly a group of aliens known as the Wanderers who sought revenge on Galactus for consuming their home planet. While Ego died in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, he could be replaced with another cosmic being: Perhaps another Celestial, like Eson the Searcher, who we briefly saw during the Collector’s Infinity Stone presentation in Guardians Vol. 1? Plus, introducing Galactus in such a manner would make for both a crowd-pleasing spectacle and a unique challenge for our favorite Thunder God.

Alternatively, if they did select Gorr as the villain, fans would anticipate an adaptation of “Godbomb” from writer Jason Aaron and artist Esad Ribic, which featured not one, but three versions of Thor from across the timeline: Thor the Avenger of the present, young Thor from when he was not yet worthy enough to lift Mjolnir, and old King Thor from a distant, apocalyptic future. Given that we’ve seen different interpretations of Thor in the films we already have -- classic Thor, haircut Thor, “bro” Thor -- it wouldn’t be a stretch for us to see multiple time-displaced Thors in the same room. Not only would this open up multiple possibilities for action and humor, but it would also give Thor the opportunity to reflect on how varied his history in the MCU has been, how many times his character has evolved, and perhaps by interacting with his other selves, he could finally figure out where he’s supposed to be going next.
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No matter which characters or stories they choose, the important part is that from a filmmaking standpoint, Marvel is in uncharted waters by taking one of their solo characters this far forward, and that like they did with Ragnarok, they have to find a new purpose for Thor to serve in the franchise. By intentionally paralleling that real-world need with Thor’s own in-universe journey, perhaps they can find that new purpose together.

Carlos Morales writes novels, articles and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on IGN and Twitter.

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Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder Image

Marvel's Thor: Love and Thunder

Release DateNovember 5, 2021