With Thor: Love and Thunder, the title character becomes the first hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to get a fourth solo outing, leaving Chris Hemsworth as both the franchise’s elder statesman and the last of the original Avengers left standing.
With Iron Man and Black Widow killed off, Captain America retired and passing the shield onto Sam Wilson, Hawkeye being eased into a supporting role on Disney Plus and the Hulk legally barred from headlining his own movies, the franchise is clearly bracing itself for a new era. There are plenty of returning names and new faces more than capable of leading the MCU into the future though, and given some of the details we know so far about Love and Thunder, there’s every chance that it could mark Chris Hemsworth’s final appearance in his career-defining role.
Valkyrie has already been confirmed as the new King of Asgard, so there’s no longer a kingdom that requires him to rule. Not only that, but while the return of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster seems to indicate that their story will finally be brought to a close after the actress wasn’t involved in Ragnarok, the fact that she’s set to inherit the mantle of Thor means that Valkyrie’s New Asgard might not even need the Odinson as its protector anymore.
Even his nefarious brother Loki, who has always been a constant thorn in Thor’s side, is apparently no longer an issue in the current MCU timeline, with his Disney Plus spinoff set to take place in the alternate reality the God of Mischief escaped from during Avengers: Endgame’s time heist.
Unless the cameo by the Guardians of the Galaxy leads to something bigger and doesn’t just serve as a means to get Thor back to New Asgard in order to advance the plot, then there’s every chance that Love and Thunder could see another of the MCU’s Phase One stalwarts ride off into the sunset.
