Thor: Love & Thunder’s Unanswered Questions

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Thor: Love and Thunder.

Director Taika Waititi tells a mostly complete story in Thor: Love and Thunder, but the film also leaves a string of unanswered questions that could factor into the future of the MCU. Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as the God of Thunder in his fourth solo film as the Avenger. In Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor moves on from the events of the Infinity Saga and embarks on a self-healing journey. He is eventually roped into a brand new mission after the threat that Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) poses becomes apparent.

Luckily, Thor gets some formidable allies starting with King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), whom he reunites with after he passed up on ruling New Asgard at the end of Avengers: Endgame. The God of Thunder also reconnects with his ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who is now Mighty Thor and worthy of Mjölnir. Both get their chance to battle Gorr the God Butcher, but in the end, Thor’s appeal to the villain’s humanity is what ultimately convinces him to let go of his grudge against the gods.

While Thor: Love and Thunder is primarily a self-contained narrative, it still exists within the MCU. Given this, it leaves several big plot threads that could be tackled in future Marvel Studios projects. Otherwise, these queries may have been a way to set up Thor 5 instead, if and when it actually happens. Here are the biggest unanswered questions in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Where’s Gamora During Thor: Love & Thunder?

At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Thor decides to join the Guardians of the Galaxy in their new adventure. By the time the events of Thor: Love and Thunder roll around, the God of Thunder is still with the rag-tag cosmic heroes. However, the Guardians of the Galaxy are noticeably missing Gamora (Zoe Saldana). It’s worth noting that Sacred Timeline’s Gamora remains dead after Avengers: Infinity War, but Avengers: Endgame brought 2014’s version to the main timeline. Her whereabouts continue to be a mystery and unfortunately, despite Star-Lord’s (Chris Pratt) intention to track her down, he still hasn’t been able to by the time of Thor: Love and Thunder.

Where Did The Guardians Of The Galaxy Go?

While Thor is primarily spending time with the Guardians of the Galaxy post-Infinity Saga, the team isn’t really part of the fight against Gorr the God Butcher. After the God of Thunder receives a distress call from Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander), he insists on responding to her needs on his own. So early on in Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor bids his quasi-teammates farewell, although it’s unclear where Thor 4‘s Guardians of the Galaxy are off to next. From the looks of it, they’re continuing their crusade of helping planets in need, but they could also be on their way to continue searching for Gamora. In any case, expect this to be the lead-in for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Where Was Lady Sif In Thor: Ragnarok

Thor catches wind of Gorr the God Butcher’s threat after Lady Sif reaches out to him in Thor: Love and Thunder. This marks the Asgardian warrior’s first MCU appearance since Thor: The Dark World. Like Jane Foster, Lady Sif wasn’t in Thor: Ragnarok. Marvel Studios did confirm that she was dusted after Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) snap in Avengers: Infinity War, hence why she had been missing in action in the last five years until the Decimation was reversed in Avengers: Endgame. Sadly, Thor: Love and Thunder still doesn’t explain why Lady Sif wasn’t in Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok when Hela (Cate Blanchett) attacked.

Did Gorr Kill Other Gods?

Disillusioned by the gods’ lack of concern for humanity after the death of his daughter, Gorr the God Butcher embarks on a crusade to kill all higher entities with the use of the Necrosword. The villain’s first victims are Rapu, the Sequoia Queen and King, and eventually, Falligar the Behemoth. Beyond that, it’s unknown who else Gorr killed. Perhaps he became fixated on reaching out to Eternity to wish the death of all gods instead of murdering them one by one. Otherwise, he could have also continued his massacre off-screen. Whatever the case may be, for a villain who’s called God the Butcher, Gorr barely does any god butchering in Thor: Love and Thunder, at least not that’s portrayed on the screen.

What Was Mighty Thor’s Final Catchphrase?

As her first foray as Mighty Thor, Jane is excited about her returning role in Thor: Love and Thunder. She’s enthusiastic about the mission and wants to do all the stereotypical things that come with being a superhero — including having a catchphrase. Throughout Thor: Love and Thunder, Jane ponders what her signature saying should be, but she never gets the chance to decide what she wants to use. She finally chooses her catchphrase and shares it with Thor during her dying moments in the blockbuster. Instead of blurting it out, however, she decides to whisper it to her lover, leaving everyone wondering what it might be.

Is Jane Foster Really Dead (Can She Return)?

Like in Jason Aaron’s Mighty Thor run in the comics, Jane Foster has cancer in Thor: Love and Thunder. After rounds and rounds of treatment, she gets a renewed sense of purpose when Mjölnir calls to her and becomes Mighty Thor. Unfortunately, every single time Jane Foster transforms into Mighty Thor, her cancer worsens as the transformation not only purges all toxins from her body, including the chemotherapy, but it also saps all her energy that would otherwise be used for fighting the cancer. Despite Thor’s plea for her to sit out the final confrontation with Gorr the God Butcher, Jane comes to his rescue, essentially making it a suicide mission for her. After her death, the Thor: Love and Thunder post-credits scene shows her entering Valhalla and being greeted by Heimdall. Despite this, there are doubts that Jane will actually remain dead in the MCU, especially since her stint as Mighty Thor is just beginning.

Who Else Is In The MCU’s Valhalla?

After Jane’s death in the arms of Thor,  Thor: Love and Thunder’s post-credits scene reveals Heimdall (Idris Elba) welcoming her to Valhalla. The Asgardian afterlife can only be accessed by Asgardians who die in battle, but since Mighty Thor is technically still a mortal, it seems like Marvel Studios is tweaking Valhalla’s rules. It seems that as she possessed the power of Mjölnir, she was worthy of admission to the heroic afterlife. Given this, it’s interesting who else may be in it. Frigga (Rene Russo) and the Warriors Three all fit the original rules to access the Asgardian afterlife, which is that one has to die in battle, so it’s possible that they’re all there. Based on Jane’s entry, it’s also possible that Sacred Timeline’s Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is also there. This query is something that the potential Thor 5 could further tackle.

Will Love Become A Young Avenger? What’s Next For Her?

After Thor’s appeal, Gorr the God Butcher changes his one wish to Eternity. Instead of asking for the death of all gods, the villain pleads for his daughter, Love, to be resurrected instead. Gorr the God Butcher dies subsequently, leaving his beloved child in the God of Thunder’s care. At the ending of Thor: Love and Thunder, the pair seem to be doing quite well, even training together. While Thor wields the repaired Mjölnir, Love uses Stormbreaker. She clearly has god-like powers and considering Marvel Studios’ efforts to set up Young Avengers, there’s interest in the possibility of Love ultimately joining the young superhero team.

Like most Marvel Studios films, Thor: Love and Thunder has two credits scenes. The first one features the aftermath of Thor and his team’s attack on Zeus (Russell Crowe) in Omnipotence City. Fuming about what happened, Zeus sends Hercules, played by Ted Lasso‘s Brett Goldstein, to hunt down the God of Thunder for revenge. This effectively sets up an epic fight between Hercules and Thor in Thor 5. The question is, will Zeus’ son succeed in carrying out his mission and kill the hero of Asgard? This could be the best way to write Thor out of the MCU unless Marvel still wants to continue incorporating him in the franchise’s future.

Where Are The Avengers During Thor: Love & Thunder?

With New Asgard relocating on Earth, it’s safe to assume that word about Gorr the God Butcher’s attack immediately went around and became global news. It’s difficult to imagine that it doesn’t reach the Avengers or any of Thor’s Earth-based allies, especially Smart Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and even Wakandans. This begs the question: where are Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are during the God of Thunder’s fight against the Thor: Love and Thunder villain? The fact that New Asgard has become a travel destination makes this a more interesting question, as it seems likely that at least a few would be visiting at the time of Gorr’s attack. At the very least, a remaining Avenger might have at least reached out in Thor: Love and Thunder to find out what’s going on with the Asgardians.

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