The arrival of Natalie Portman’s Mighty Thor in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder might herald a new era of change for Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder according to some fan speculation, but as far as director Taika Waititi is concerned, that isn’t the case at all.
In a new interview with Total Film following the release of the latest Love and Thunder trailer — which also gave us our first look at Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher and Russell Crowe’s Zeus — Waititi claims that no one is taking Hemsworth’s place as Odinson in the MCU, at least to the extent he knows.
“It’s really fun, the idea that Thor [has] got Stormbreaker, that big axe, and now his hammer’s back and it’s in the hands of someone else. It’s no longer his hammer. It’s the idea that someone’s taking his place. I think a lot of fans are gonna potentially assume, ‘Oh, okay, this is the passing on of the torch’… I’m not privy to any plans Marvel has for the future, but I don’t think that’s the case.”
Now that Jane Foster is swooping into the MCU again, and brandishing a repaired Mjolnir, no less, a lot of fans had worried that she might steal Hemsworth’s spotlight, or thunder if you will.
Until we watch the movie for ourselves, speculating about where Thor or his female alter ego will go from there will only lead us in circles. That being said, it’d still be reasonable to conclude that Marvel isn’t getting rid of either of them just yet, especially Hemsworth who is one of the few remaining legacy Avengers from the dawn of the MCU.
Thor: Love and Thunder will swing into theaters on July 8.