Will Love & Thunder Kill Off Chris Hemsworth's Thor?
With the inclusion of Gorr the God Butcher, Thor: Love and Thunder could kill Chris Hemsworth's Thor. The upcoming film is Taika Waititi's second MCU project after making one of its finest, quirkiest offerings in Thor: Ragnarok. Love and Thunder will pick up where Avengers: Endgame left off: Hemsworth's Thor flying off with Star-Lord and the remaining Guardians of the Galaxy on a new adventure. Waititi will also introduce Christian Bale as Gorr, meaning Love and Thunder could well kill Thor, and the Guardians and supporting cast are also in harm's way.
It'd be a bold move. But despite the levity of Thor: Ragnarok, Hela was still a violent figure, and the people of Asgard moved one step closer to losing their home for good. Waititi, a master of blending whimsy, bizarre humor, and abject tragedy as per JoJo Rabbit, will likely not shy away from letting the God of Thunder make a weird joke and catch the sharp end of All-Black The Necrosword, one of the most powerful weapons in the Multiverse.
True to his name, Gorr has a reputation for butchering gods. And he is a threat like Thor has never faced – even Thanos, the most potent villain in the MCU to date, met his demise at the end of Thor's axe, and Thor could've prevented the Snap had he only gone for the head. Still, in the comics, Gorr regularly beats up and nearly kills Thor, and it took three versions of the hero to beat Gorr. The MCU has the multiversal chops to make a similar scenario happen, but it seems unlikely so soon after Spider-Man: No Way Home. If a character can kill Thor, it's Gorr, especially if Waititi lets him wield All-Black.
By killing Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff, Marvel Studios foreshadowed its intent to start moving on from an MCU that focused on the foundational Avengers. With this being said, the actors playing Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow were all moving on to other things, whereas Hemsworth has said he'll play Thor "as long as they'll [Marvel] have me." The moving parts behind the scenes are a little different for Hemsworth than for Scarlett Johansson and Robert Downey Jr., and he still has deep-rooted appeal, so Marvel fans might get to see Hemsworth become Old King Thor in real-time. Still, Phase 4 promised change, and killing Thor would send a ripple through the MCU like few other events.
Just as there are many Loki variants from different timelines, it follows there'd be infinite Thors, too. So while Gorr might polish off this variant, another may step in to fill his shoes. Hemsworth has been a verifiable chameleon when presenting Thor – take the difference between Ragnarok/Infinity War Thor and Endgame Thor as an example – and the tone of each movie is unique. He'd likely relish the opportunity to replace Earth-616 Thor and see what happens. So far, death has rarely been the end of Marvel characters.
Natalie Portman's Jane is also confirmed to wield Mjolnir in this movie, marking her transition into Mighty Thor. The circumstances around the need for her to wield Mjolnir (and Mjolnir being broken in Thor 4) might arise in the aftermath of losing Thor. The other equally upsetting scenario for Thor would be losing Jane in the process and taking some time away from the events of the MCU to grieve. Even if he doesn't die, Thor could end the movie irreparably broken. Whatever route this movie takes, Thor's arc has been one of the best in the MCU. Thor: Love and Thunder has a golden opportunity to blow the hierarchy of the Avengers wide open.
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