Chris Hemsworth’s Thor hit a major milestone last year, as he became the first Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero to lead a film series lasting longer than a trilogy. The God of Thunder’s fourth solo outing, Thor: Love and Thunder, saw him facing off against Christian Bale’s Gorr and fighting alongside Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, his ex-girlfriend who wielding the reconstructed Mjolnir as The Mighty Thor. As things currently stand, Thor 5 isn’t confirmed to be one of the upcoming Marvel movies, but even so, filmmaker Taika Waititi has already set a major goal for the villain of this hypothetical project.
After successfully helming Thor: Ragnarok, Waititi reprised his directorial duties for Thor: Love and Thunder, as well as co-wrote the script with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. He was among the subjects interviewed for Thor: Love and Thunder The Official Movie Special, and in an excerpt for the upcoming book (via ScreenRant), he explained that he wants the baddie, whoever it ends up being, to be more powerful than Cate Blanchett’s Hela:
What is left to do to him? It's got to be something that feels like it's carrying on with the evolution of the character, but still in a very fun way and still giving him things to come up against that feel like they're building on the obstacles that he has to overcome. I don't think we can have a villain that's weaker than Hela. I feel like we need to step up from there and add a villain that's somehow more formidable.
There’s no question that Hela is one of the strongest MCU villains, because although Thor Odinson was briefly able to put up a decent fight against her in Ragnarok when he unlocked the true potential of his lightning powers (and after losing his eye just a few minutes earlier), she still wiped the floor with him. It was only when the towering Fire Demon known as Surtur was reborn that the Asgardian Goddess of Death was finally killed, though it came at the cost of Asgard itself. So Taika Waititi wanting to unleash someone even more powerful than Hela in Thor 5 is a lofty goal, though that begs a question: would Thor somehow be able to take down this opponent on his own, or would he once again have to rely on someone/something else to vanquish them?
Waititi didn’t elaborate on who he’s considering for Thor 5, if anyone, but he did add that continuing to pit Chris Hemsowrth’s protagonist against “more and more outlandish and crazy beasts, monsters and aliens” stays true to both the Marvel Comics version of the character and his original mythology. Hemsworth said in June that he’s game to continue playing Thor in the MCU, provided that’s what the audience wants and he, Waititi and the rest of the team can keep things “a little unpredictable.” Utilizing such a powerful villain could be a good way to accomplish this, though considering the flak Hemsworth’s kids gave him for Love and Thunder’s humor, going in a darker direction may also be up for consideration.
In any case, if any official word comes in about Thor 5, we’ll let you know about it. Until then, stream the God of Thunder’s past cinematic adventures with your Disney+ subscription and check out Taika Waititi’s next movie, Next Goal Wins, in theaters on November 17.
