The MCU’s Thor 5 Can Live Up to Fan Expectations

Thor has been one of the most popular and long-lasting characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the past 12 years. Following the success of Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, fans where excited to see what new adventures awaited the god of thunder. However, despite its anticipation, Thor: Love and Thunder failed to live up to its potential and disappointed most fans. Whether it was the underuse of a terrifying villain or the wearisome comedic aspect of the story, the sequel did not hit the mark. With ongoing rumors of a fifth Thor movie, Marvel Studios can learn from its mistakes and redo the way that Thor and the rest of the Asgardian gods are being presented in the films.

Thor 5 can rebrand the Thor franchise by exploring how the god of thunder can live up to his potential as the ruler of Asgard. Similarly, by reinstating Asgard as a mythical realm, the storyline will have a more mythical and magical narrative, akin to the comics. Finally, despite the ongoing debate of the quality of the first two Thor movies, they presented strong and complex relationships between protagonists. By bringing back certain characters into the movies, such as Loki, Thor 5 can show a different dynamic between the siblings that has not yet been explored onscreen.

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Thor: Love and Thunder Damaged the Franchise

The fourth movie of the Thor franchise created heated discussions among viewers, many of them believing that it missed the mark. Its relentless comedy took away from a storyline that has a dark and serious tone in the comics on which it was based; Thor: God of Thunder and Mighty Thor. The two major storylines of the movie focused on the fight against Gorr the God Butcher and Jane Foster becoming the Mighty Thor in order to cure her cancer. Fans only got a glimpse of the devastating power that Gorr could have unleashed on many pantheons. As for Jane Foster, her story was explored more in depth in comparison. Her having cancer and how turning into the Mighty Thor made her weaker was an important part of the story. However, the gravitas of her storyline was frequently being diminished by the continuous use of lackluster comedy.

Whereas the first two Thor films used to be focused on the mythical aspect of the MCU, they also explored how the personalities of the Asgardian gods and how magical the nine realms can be. The last Thor movie presented no wonder, or character building, with the narrative seeming more like a space adventure, rather than a mythical quest to end a crusade on deicide. Additionally, Thor’s character seemed to be regressing, instead of progressing. One of the major characteristics of Thor’s character development is the fact that he became more humble and serious, contrasting his old personality seen in Thor. However, in Thor: Love and Thunder he is seen more boastful than ever before, lacking the life lessons and survivor’s guilt that affected him as an individual in his appearances in previous movies.

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Thor’s first two movies showcased him becoming a hero and more virtuous. Thor: Ragnarok showed him finding his true power and resolve to become the leader that he was always meant to be. However, after Avengers: Infinity War Thor’s survivor’s guilt led to him becoming a neglectful king, eventually giving the throne to Valkyrie, while going on space adventures. Thor’s journey of late has been anticlimactic and unfitting of his character, deviating even more from his comic book counterpart. One could argue that Thor is now making his own destiny and is not tied down by his fate. However, by cutting ties with Asgard, Thor shows that his journey of selflessness was for naught. By having him reclaim the throne in Thor 5, he would be showing true selflessness, since he would be providing for his people. As a king he would also still be a hero to the nine realms since he’ll be in a position of power to make actual change in the world.

Furthermore, Thor 5 should reinstate Asgard to its former glory. Despite Odin’s comment in Thor: Ragnarok that Asgard is a people, the Thor franchise has lately been lacking the mythical grandeur that realm once provided. In the comics, Asgardians had their home destroyed more than once. However, it was always rebuilt, keeping the realm of the gods alive for more future storylines. The latest Thor movies have been heavily centered on science fiction instead of fantasy. With the reintroduction of the mythical realm of Asgard, fantasy could become a driving genre for the franchise, as it was first seen in Thor.

Loki and Thor Can Finally Reunite in Thor 5

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Loki season 2 portrays a different personality for the god of mischief. The last time viewers saw the two siblings together was when Loki’s main variant was killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. Ever since then fans have been anticipating a reunion between Thor and Loki. What differentiated the first three Thor movies from Thor: Love and Thunder was the fact that they focused on the relationship between the two siblings. The love-hate relationship that these two characters shared was the central theme of not only the franchise, but also the first Avengers movie. Thor was not the only one to delve into a personal journey of self-growth, as Loki gradually learned to be selfless and caring.

The Loki TV series concentrates on the god of mischief’s personal journey to become a better person. Although he is still not categorized as a hero, Loki can no longer be considered as a villain. However, Thor still has not witnessed this change in his brother’s character and this could give the opportunity for an interesting narrative to be explored in Thor 5. Thor and Loki have always had a tumultuous relationship. They have been either enemies or friends, rivals or allies. Even so, despite their differences in the end they fought together against Thanos, even if they were ultimately defeated. Thor 5 can finally explore how they can create a stronger sibling bond, allowing fans to witness a new dynamic to their relationship.

The Thor franchise has seemingly lost its way in the last couple of years. It is as if Marvel Studios is having difficulty with writing Thor’s character and with portraying him onscreen. Thor: Love and Thunder gave a problematic example of how he is being treated as a character, and how his story arc has been altered. Either because of poor visual effects or weak scripts, the quality of the Thor franchise seems to be declining. However, there is still hope for Thor’s future. Marvel Studios is striving to focus on the overall quality of their future productions. This way, it shows that the media franchise is learning from its mistakes, and trying to make movies that will both do justice to their characters and to continue being entertaining for audiences.

Nevertheless, despite some rumors on whether there will be a Thor 5 or not, there is still room for the god of thunder to be improved as a character. The future of the MCU is uncertain, especially with the stakes being higher than ever before with the introduction of a new main villain — He Who Remains, or else known as Kang. There is no telling what awaits Thor in the upcoming Avengers movies, however it would be a shame should his last stand-alone film be so uninspiring. Despite being a part of the MCU for so long, Thor has still much more to give in Marvel’s overall story. It would be only fair to see what else he can offer to fans in the future.