Thor: Love and Thunder Will Help Determine the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Future

Can Disney/Marvel retire all of its biggest stars and continue their unmatched success?

Marvel’s one-two summer blockbuster punch is right around the corner and the new Thor: Love and Thunder trailer is igniting fans around the world.

It’s no secret the Marvel Cinematic Universe(MCU) is headed in a different direction. This is to be expected after almost a decade and a half of tremendous success. Undoubtedly some characters will leave us and others will be introduced but will they be able to reach the heights of the likes of Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and potentially Thor?

Thor: Love and Thunder Trailer

The new trailer hit the spot. Taika Waititi looks to be in top form. The comedic approach from Thor: Ragnarok is back in full force. The Guardians of the Galaxy, Valkyrie, and Jane Foster join in on the fun as Thor looks to find his place after his recent experiences.

It looks like The Guardians will only be around for the first act. The Jane Foster angle is interesting. I won’t spoil anything for people who haven’t read the Jane Foster Mighty Thor comics. However, I’m starting to hope they don’t follow that storyline.

Initially, I thought it would be a great idea. The storyline is well done. However, this movie is jammed packed, and fitting in a separate complete story for Jane Foster feels like a waste.

I thought she would be introduced as having Thor’s powers in this film and set her up for her own film in which her whole story would be told. Not to say this won’t happen but I’m curious now how much they’ve altered it.

The Future of the MCU

Thor is the first Marvel hero to lead a fourth solo effort. Most would argue it’s deserved after his third outing in Thor: Ragnorak being when he finally came into his own.

The problem for the MCU is two-fold. First, what do they do with the original Avengers? Are Hulk, Thor, and Hawkeye set to go the way of Steve, Tony, and Natasha?

Likely, Clint is already headed that way with how his Disney+ show wrapped up. Bruce Banner has always been somewhat sidelined due to distribution deals that never allowed The Hulk to have his own movies. We don’t really discuss the Edward Norton technically MCU film.

That said is Thor done after this? Will he die in this film? Maybe just be replaced with Jane Foster? I’ve never been a fan of replacing characters so this would be no different. I’d rather Thor not go anywhere.

However, this leads to the second issue. What happens with all of your major stars gone from the MCU? Will the Marvel Cinematic Universe still thrive once the main characters are younger, newer, and have less pre-existing love than the former characters had?

My estimation is yes.

While characters like Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, and Thor were decently popular and well known before this movie franchise started they weren’t the most popular characters.

They became some of the most popular comic book characters because of these movies.

While the characters Marvel is introducing now like Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel are fairly lesser-known, especially outside of comic book circles, the MCU is very well adept at bringing in new characters in an interesting and exciting way.

Let’s take, for example, Black Panther. I’m not sure I’d heard of Black Panther before Captain America: Civil War. I suspect a lot of people were probably in that same camp with me.

He was introduced beautifully, however.

His arc within the story. His introduction was not rushed, or shoe-horned in. In my opinion one of the best character introductions in the MCU.

Marvel can repeat this success with many characters going forward. They have a formula and as long as the vision doesn’t change they can continue to do what they’ve done.

Thor: Love and Thunder will help determine what happens next. If Thor exits the MCU and over the next few movies after this, we see a decline in interest and box office you can bet Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Thor will be back.

There are already rumors swirling about certain characters returning now. Can what some will see as the B team step up and take the place of characters we’ve seen as the top-tier players in this world?

Money will matter the most, however. Fan response only matters as it relates to dollars. If Thor: Love and Thunder makes a billion dollars at the box office after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness makes maybe two billion then we go two years and six more movies and none of those reach the billion-dollar mark we could easily see the return of old favorites.

The bar is set high and Thor: Love and Thunder will set the lasting mark that the next generation of MCU characters will have to live up to. As a huge fan of the franchise, I’m hoping for the best. However, there’s always caution when heading in a new direction.

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