The mightily mixed reception to Thor: Love and Thunder has split the MCU fandom right down the middle on the need for Thor 5. Camp A believes Taika Waititi’s tired second go-around helming the Asgardian proves the franchise needs to be put to (Odin)sleep while Camp B are convinced another movie is needed to wash away the lingering taste of LaT. We can’t let our last memories of Thor be of screaming goats and that boy’s head floating around like the Teletubbies’ sun, right?
What we can all agree on, though, is that the rumored title for Thor 5 is a just a little bit atrocious. While Marvel has yet to announce such a project, Chris Hemsworth hasn’t ruled out the possibility, even if Waititi is unlikely to return to close out a trilogy. And given that, despite its critical notices, Love and Thunder was actually one of the most profitable Multiverse Saga movies, it certainly seems a possibility. Sure enough, scuttlebutt abounds that it’s quietly in the works.
As per the latest intel sweeping social media, Thor 5 is apparently called Thor and the Legend of Hercules. Anyone who’s seen LaT‘s post-credits scene will understand the logic here, as Ted Lasso‘s Brett Goldstein was introduced as Greek demi-god Hercules and sent by his father, Russell Crowe’s Zeus, to get revenge on the Norse God of Thunder. Allegedly it would also introduce Thor’s other brother Balder, following that Easter egg in Loki season 2.
Again, this is all just uncorroborated rumors for now, but this is not the first time that Thor and the Legend of Hercules has been touted as the film’s title. A quick YouTube search will show you just how many fanmade trailers have been created under that name. While it might seem like it makes sense on paper, however, there’s a very big reason why Marvel should avoid this title like Love and Thunder should’ve avoided killing off Jane Foster.
Thor 5 cannot continue the Multiverse Saga’s trouble with titles
The thing is that there is already a movie called The Legend of Hercules, and it was universally panned. Released in 2014, it was a 3D action film starring The Twilight Saga‘s Kellan Lutz that failed to recoup even its middling $70 million budget and stands at a mere 5% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s also such a generic title that I could’ve sworn there were more movies bearing that name, but IMDb tells me otherwise. Maybe I was thinking of the synonymous Kevin Sorbo show Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
Whatever its title is, Thor 5 needs to find exactly the right moniker for itself as the Multiverse Saga has had a real trouble with titles. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness apparently did the trick, earning $955 million worldwide, but clearly going with The Marvels rather than the more informative Captain Marvel 2 was not the way to go. And whether Deadpool 3‘s deliberately goofy title turns out for the best remains to be seen.
A Thor vs. Hercules dogfight godfight? Sure, we’re up for that, but the title for the movie needs to be god-tier too.
