Rumor: Chris Hemsworth's Thor 5 Will Abandon One Franchise Mainstay

According to a new rumor, Thor 5 is coming and will do so without one franchise mainstay. No official word on a fifth Thor film has been made public yet; however, teases are out there. The God of Thunder himself, Chris Hemsworth, has already proven that he is ready for more, signing on to appear in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and sharing that he would do it (as long as he doesn't have to get as big as he has for past Thor movies).

Recent reporting suggested Thor 5 is already in the works; however, it is moving ahead without franchise director Taika Waititi. Waitit jumped onto the Thor train with Thor: Ragnarok, giving the Asgardian MCU sub-franchise a new voice when it needed it most. His future with the series has been questioned following the lackluster reception to 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder, and the MCU's plans for the God of Thunder are unclear looking forward. 

Known leaker MyTimeToShineHello shared on their person X account that a fifth Thor movie is in the works at Marvel Studios, but it will not see Waititi return; instead, star Chris Hemsworth is "pushing for" action filmmaker Sam Hargrave to take on the project:

"After I posted this a source reached out, turns out 'Secret Wars' won't be the end of his story. 'Thor 5' is in the works, no Taika this time, and Hemsworth's pushing for Sam Hargrave (the 'Extraction' guy) to take over."

Hemsworth has worked with Hargrave on the Extraction movie franchise for Netflix— a series that has seen two movies released to date, a spin-off show in the works, and a third film already greenlit.

The filmmaker also has a previous relationship with Disney, having worked as a stunt coordinator on several MCU films (including Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame) as well as a second unit director on Season 2 of The Mandalorian. 

Chris Hemsworth's Thor will next be seen in 2026's Avengers: Doomsday (directed by The Russo Brothers). In that film, Hemsworth will likely serve as one of the elder statesmen of the super-powered team, joining the likes of Anthony Mackie, Tom Hiddleston, and Sebastian Stan, as he remains one of the longest-tenured actors in the MCU.

Marvel Studios remains tight-lipped about a potential Thor 5 despite seemingly setting the movie up in Thor: Love and Thunder with the introduction of the adorable Love as Thor's new sidekick, as well as Brett Goldstein's Hercules. 

Why Moving On From Taika Waititi Makes Sense For Thor

If this rumor proves true and Thor 5 is being planned without Taika Waititi at the helm, it may ultimately be for the best of the Chris Hemsworth-led franchise. 

Waititi's contributions to the MCU cannot be overstated. The What We Do In the Shadows director rejuvenated Hemsworth's God of Thunder in the super-powered franchise, giving him a new, unique identity amongst his Marvel Studios brethren, something that surely needed after the misstep that was Thor: The Dark World. 

However, nearly a decade after Waititi took over the Thor franchise, the subseries finds itself in a similar situation to where it was coming into Ragnarok. Thor: Love and Thunder did not hit the mark of Waititi's first film, being the worst-reviewed movie in the Thor franchise.

Given that Hemsworth has been doing this as long as he has (14 years), it would not be surprising if he/Marvel wants to go somewhere else with the Thor brand post-Love and Thunder. 

In the wake of Love and Thunder's release, Hemsworth indicated he wanted to move away from Waititi's vision of the character, telling fans that he hopes the Thor movies "reinvent" themselves with whatever is next to keep fans "on their toes" and him "invested:"

"You look at 'Thor 1' and '2,' they were quite similar. 'Ragnarok' and 'Love and Thunder' are similar. I think it’s about reinventing it. I’ve had such a unique opportunity with 'Infinity War' and 'Endgame' to do very drastic things with the character. I enjoy that, I like keeping people on their toes. It keeps me on my toes. It keeps me invested. I’ve said this before but when it becomes too familiar, I think there’s a risk in getting lazy then because I know what I’m doing. So I don’t know."

Waititi himself has even touched on the idea of leaving Thor in the rearview, saying in June 2022 that "every time I make a film, I think, 'I'm never doing that again…:'"

"I haven’t thought about it as part of a new trilogy, because every time I make a film, I think, 'I'm never doing that again…' because they're just too hard. There's any film and I've done it eight times now. Eight times I've said, 'I think I'm just going to pack it in. I had a good run.' And then sure enough get lured back in with a Yankee dollar. Lured back in by them cookies… and them Oscars."

If the franchise is going to move away from Waititi, Sam Hargrave might make sense. The filmmaker has a prior relationship with the movie's biggest star and the studio behind it, and he could bring a unique action-infused vision for the character that would be different from anything that has come before it.