Thor: Love and Thunder Might Be the Best Thor Yet

Thor 4 is happening!

Yes, that’s one of the more exciting announcements coming out of San Diego Comic Con the past weekend. Marvel Studios announced their next wave of feature films in their comic book universe, or for the diehards, Phase 4. While there’s a ton of content to unpack from this year’s event with the inclusion of Disney+ streaming shows and their full slate up until 2021, one of the biggest reveals will be Thor 4 will feature Natalie Portman taking the mantle.

**Spoiler alert. If you haven’t read the comics then its safe to say you should read no further. Seriously, stop! But if you have or want to know the general idea about the story regardless then journey on. My guess is the studio doesn’t mind because the comic that turned Jane into the next Thor was released 4 years ago and only came to a conclusion last year.**

You’re still here? Good. As a comic reader, there have been few stories that I’ve enjoyed in the past couple years than I have The Mighty Thor written by Jason Aaron and artwork by Russell Dauterman. The artwork was simply amazing on every page and the story kept my nose in the pages the whole time. If this is the adaptations fans are getting then they won’t be disappointed.

Yes, I know. Fans weren’t too thrilled with her role in Star Wars. I also know Thor: Dark World wasn’t the greatest film either. However, Natalie Portman shouldn’t be judged by those movies alone. Combine that with the great story of The Mighty Thor and Marvel’s cinematic run and the outrage you’re getting whispers of can be brushed right off.

Now the story. How does Jane Foster become worthy? As told in The Mighty Thor, Jane is dying of cancer, but her deep-seated passion to help and save others is a hero worthy and surely qualifies her. No, we didn’t forget about the throw-away line from the movie about the two “splitting up” but as it was such a soft one-liner in the film there’s no saying a clever enough writer couldn’t spin that as Odinson trying to protect her condition.

If you’re wondering how Thor Odinson becomes unworthy then look no further. In the comics, it took one line from, of all people, Nick Fury who seems to be alive and well. It was revealed later in a limited run Unworthy Thor, what Fury said to him, but we’ll leave that part of the story out. We don’t want to spoil the entire thing. Besides, I’m sure there’s a ton of murkiness to the story we’re getting and the actual story as it was written. The studio could go in an entire direction.

So how do the two intertwine? Thor clearly didn’t seem himself in Avengers: Endgame. While Ragnarok and Infinity War reminded us that the Odinson did, in fact, have a personality and a funny one, he’s still the God of Thunder and has a tendency to act as such. After the events of Infinity War, once the team found Thanos and planned their attack, Thor wasted no time getting revenge. Between that attack and his later self-loathing, his worthiness has been tested. Even though he later wields Mjölnir once again, there’s nothing saying these events won’t lead up to Thor being deemed unworthy.

An opening scene with a battle, a split second decision, and an unethical result could strip him of his powers and lead him down a different path while paving the way for Jane Foster to pick up the hammer. Marvel seems to be pivoting away from their original Avengers and Thor is one of the few left.

Surely the Asgardians of the Galaxy wasn’t a throwaway line and since GotG 3 comes out after Thor 4 they might have some wiggle room to work around. Chris Hemsworth himself has become more and more of a star and will certainly have a full schedule in the next few years. Bypassing the torch in Thor 4 but keeping him around for GotG 3, Marvel will allow themselves a brilliantly written comic to play out on the big screen while not doing a full reset with their beloved characters. No matter what route they go, their money train doesn’t seem to be slowing any time soon. Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled for 2021 but it can’t come soon enough.