Everyone seems to agree that Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder was far from impressive. Fans had high hopes at first. After all, Thor: Ragnarok was a vast improvement over the Norse hero’s previous two solo outings. Furthermore, Waititi seemed to be able to do no wrong in anything he did. Yet, the 2022 fourquel was a letdown. With that, many had decided they were done with the New Zealander’s involvement with Thor. Chris Hemsworth himself seemed to be among that camp as he stated that a new film would need a far different tone.

The question is: should there be a Thor 5? No hero has ever gotten four solo films before, let alone a fifth, and Love and Thunder seemed to be a send-off of sorts. The MCU, as a whole, has been moving in a new direction, and for the most part, it hasn’t seemed to need The God of Thunder. Thor is among the last vestiges of the original line-up of Marvel heroes, and each has slowly been fazing out. It’s only a matter of time before it happens to Thor.

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Underwhelming Installments

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

For starters, Thor’s track record as a solo act has been anything but stellar. 2011’s Thor was an underwhelming debut, and Thor: The Dark World is largely considered among the worst MCU films to date. Thor Ragnarok broke the Asgardian’s streak by being a thoroughly entertaining and pertinent installment that finally gave fans hope that The God of Thunder could carry a series on his own. Alas, Taika Waititi failed to maintain his momentum with Love and Thunder, leaving fans crushed.

Waititi arguably found the perfect formula to make Thor stand alone with the right balance of embracing the weirdness of the source material and the momentous destruction of Asgard. He respected the source material enough to stay faithful to its lore and history, but didn’t let his first film take itself too seriously to let the family melodrama bog down the story. However, Love and Thunder didn’t take itself nearly seriously enough. After four films and only one good one, maybe it’s time to put stories of Thor and Asgard to bed.

Thor’s Story Is Mostly Resolved

     Marvel Studios

There has been a common theme in each of Thor’s outings up to Love and Thunder. At the start of his journey, Thor was naive and cocky, and took those closest to him for granted. As time passed, he had to learn to cherish those in his life and learn responsibility, with the pain of loss as his greatest teacher. Throughout The Infinity Saga, Thor lost his parents, his friends, Loki (twice), and even his home. The pain of his losses followed him to Love and Thunder. His entire development has been defined by those he’d lost and how he handled his grief through rage, depression, and vengeance.

All this changed in his latest movie. Although he lost the love of his life, Jane Foster, Thor found a new purpose in his loss by becoming a surrogate father for Love, the daughter of Gorr the God Butcher. In this sense, despite all he had lost, he still chose to put his pain aside for love. A love he can keep and protect. A new purpose after all else is gone. This is why Love and Thunder may be the best possible ending for the God of Thunder. He found a chance to finally put down his hammer for good and protect what is most important by taking himself off the board, similarly to how Steve Rogers did in Avengers Endgame.

Chris Hemsworth’s Health

In the months following the release of the latest Thor movie, Hemsworth was sadly hit with the news that he possesses two copies of the APOE4, which significantly increases his chances of developing Alzheimer’s. The revelation led him to decide to take time away from acting. However, the actor claimed that this is in no way his retirement. Hemsworth plans on taking preventative measures to make sure he doesn’t develop the disease, and states that the news does not mean his getting Alzheimer’s is definite.

Disease or no disease, Hemsworth has stated that whether there is a Thor 5 or not, his next appearance as the character should probably be his last. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hemsworth had this to say:

Hemsworth’s time as Thor may very well be winding down. If he does retire from the MCU, he would join the likes of Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., and Scarlett Johannson, who have all finished their character’s respective stories. But maybe there’s a better alternative for his character’s ending?

A Tony Stark Capacity

Fans will remember that despite Tony Stark’s last solo film being in Phase 2, his presence continued throughout the MCU. He appeared sporadically throughout in his attempts to be ready for an impending attack, despite the conflict it caused. In this way, Tony was an anchor to the looming threat, while everyone else was busy handling their own business. Perhaps Thor can do the same? It doesn’t make sense for someone as powerful as Thor to remain alive as Kang plots to tear the universe apart. Considering that he will likely become a major Thanos-level threat, if he isn’t one already, the world will need Thor more than ever. Perhaps he can pop up in other movies as a reminder of what is to come. It would be a great way for Thor to interact with newer heroes. He can also have the purpose of trying to reassemble the Avengers to be ready to defend the world once again. Thor wouldn’t have to have any huge parts in these movies, but he could be used to keep pushing the main story along.

His real final battle can be against Kang himself in The Kang Dynasty. There has always been a part of Thor that wished he could have sacrificed himself for his friends in Endgame if nothing else, so others could have lived. Thor is one of the few people in the MCU who can give Kang a real fight, and fans would undoubtedly love to see it. This battle could be the one that sends Thor out in a blaze of glory, the only way he should go out. Fans will have to wait and see how Thor’s story concludes.