Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige opens up on future of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor in MCU after Thor: Love and Thunder

With the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is set to become the first superhero to get four solo movies within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Among the other original Avengers, Iron Man and Captain America had three. But as the release of the film approaches, many have wondered whether Thor will be around in the MCU much longer. Chris himself has hinted that this may be his final Marvel film. In a recent press event for the film, Marvel films boss Kevin Feige addressed Thor’s future. Also read: Chris Hemsworth says Thor Love and Thunder may be his last Marvel film

Hindustan Times attended the global press conference of Thor: Love and Thunder held on Friday night. It saw the film’s stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, and Christian Bale being joined by director Taika Waititi and producer Kevin Feige. The team fielded questions about the film and the franchise in general.

At one point, Kevin Feige, who heads Marvel Studios, was asked about Thor’s future in the MCU after Love and Thunder. He responded, “Well, there are these things called comic books, that have a lot of stories in them. And that’s where all of our stories come from. And is the question, ‘Have you told all the great Thor stories from the comics and movies?’ The answer is no. There are lots of them.”

Kevin did not specify if that meant that the stories will include Chris Hemsworth’s Thor or not but he did hint that the franchise was planning to look at other versions and iterations of the character. He added, “I’ve always said our interest in making additional stories is somewhat about continuing the character. It’s almost entirely about continuing the experience with the actor and being able to see… I think of all of our cast, not as their individual characters, but as the Marvel players who within that character can grow and evolve and change. And if we look at the comics as our guide, there are plenty of other incarnations of Thor that we’ve yet to see.”

One of the other incarnations Kevin mentions will be seen in Love and Thunder itself as Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster will transform into the Mighty Thor, a character Marvel Comics have seen already. The MCU has also briefly shown a glimpse at at least one other Thor in the recent Disney+ series Loki. A stray Easter egg on the show depicted a frog version of Thor. In the comics, the character named Throg (real name Simon Walterson) has existed for quite some time.

Kevin’s comments do hint that MCU may be gearing to have Chris pass on the battle axe to a new Thor, just like it has done for other major Avengers. In Falcon and the Winter Soldier, the mantle of Captain America passed from Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). Similarly, Kate Bishop is also being established as the new Hawkeye. There are speculations that She Hulk will see Tatiana Maslany’s character step up to the plate to relieve Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. While Florence Pugh will take over from Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. Also read: Natalie Portman accidentally shares ‘big spoiler’ about Thor: Love and Thunder

With Phase 4 of the MCU midway, Marvel Studios is setting up the next generation of superheroes take a more central role. This could mean Chris Hemsworth being replaced as Thor by another version of the character. Now, whether that is Natalie Portman’s Mighty Thor or a completely different character remains to be seen. Much of that will be answered when Thor: Love and Thunder hits the screens in India on July 7. But one thing is certain. In its interwoven web of series and films, Marvel has enough characters and plots to keep the viewers engaged for years.