As if Chris Hemsworth’s Thor abdicating his role as King of New Asgard to Valkyrie didn’t show how powerful women are in the Thor franchise, now we’re getting the Mighty Thor (female Thor for those not up-to-date with Marvel Comics) storyline adapted as well! The huge reveal at SDCC that Natalie Portman would be returning as Jane Foster and taking up the mantle of the Mighty Thor in the fourth installment of the franchise, Thor: Love and Thunder, was one of the most mind-blowing of the amazing panel in Hall H. Even with Taika Waititi at the helm, a man who I inherently trust with this franchise, we’ve got a little list of must-dos for this film!
Don’t Relegate Chris Hemsworth!
Hemsworth is an incredible team player, and it is possible that he will be slowly phased out of the MCU soon. After Evans and Downey leaving their tentpole roles behind after Endgame, Hemsworth is the only man left standing from the phase-1 franchises. Nevertheless, after being made more of a bit-character in Avengers: Endgame, admittedly an absolutely hilarious one, we need to see him back up-and-running to full force. It is confusing that he’ll be off on another adventure of his own before we get a chance to see Guardians of the Galaxy 3, which I’m still very much hoping he’ll be a part of, but just because we’re lifting Jane Foster up to become her own hero, possibly leading the future of the franchise, doesn’t mean that we have to relegate Hemsworth’s Thor to a side character in his own film, that wouldn’t be fair to his legacy.
An Epic Villain!
We’ve dealt with a lot of great villains in the Thor franchise already. Going through Loki, Hela & Surtur (let’s not talk about Malekith), there’s a lot of ground already covered. We could see the comic book arc where Odin sent his brother, Cul Borson, God of fear, to retrieve Mjolnir from Jane, who he deemed unworthy despite the hammer giving itself to her. There are also a few villains that are various kinds of God-killers or slayers through Marvel Comics. Atum, Desak, Enchantress & Gorr the God Butcher are all strong options for a villain, but we’ll see which direction Waititi wants to take things. It’s just important that the villain remains strong, with surely a lot of development for both Thor and Mighty Thor in this film.
Keep The Comedy!
I’m so interested in seeing what the character of Jane Foster looks like in this film, surely Taika Waititi, a proven fan of strong female characters, will have a very different take on her to her first outings. Portman is definitely capable of the comedy that Waititi will surely write for her, as Hemsworth has proven himself. Becoming the Mighty Thor is already a massive change for the character, but this will even further remove her from what we already know, it’s important to bring that level of comedy no matter how serious things get, and they could get pretty darn serious…
Do The Whole Story!
It’s a unique storyline to use, but if Waititi is bold enough then he may adapt the Mighty Thor story directly, where Foster was diagnosed with breast cancer before receiving the hammer. While Mjolnir reduced her symptoms while she held it, every time she transformed it brought her closer to death. Eventually, she was forced to transform again, to save the people of Asgard, and died as a result. Odin and Thor were able to save her, and she returned the hammer to the original Thor before returning to Earth to concentrate on her chemotherapy. While we don’t need to see all of this happen, especially since Odin is dead, seeing Jane deal with her new role while facing the adversity of cancer as well would be an intriguing new facet for a superhero. She could overcome it and continue on as Thor while Hemsworth’s character is retired potentially, but this story should, at least in part, be brought to the screen.
A New Romance?
There’s been confirmation from Taika Waititi that Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie will be confirmed as an LGBTQ character in Thor: Love and Thunder. Kevin Feige confirmed she would “find her queen” in this film, which could mean that she gets together with Portman’s Jane Foster, or possibly somebody else. Either way, with love in the title, here’s hoping that romance is more of a depicted notion in this film than it has been throughout much of Marvel’s history. Whether Valkyrie and somebody else or Thor and Jane getting back together are major aspects, this is sure to be a fascinating adventure!
That’s my little wishlist for Thor: Love and Thunder, but let me know in the comments what else you guys want to see in that film, and check out more articles on Viral Hare about the entire MCU phase-4 slate!
