Thor: Love and Thunder brought back Natalie Portman's Jane Foster and transformed her into the Mighty Thor. Unfortunately, it looked to be a one-and-done appearance for the character as Jane's cancer eventually overcame her and she entered Valhalla shortly after dying in battle.
The Comic Circus has taken a closer look at that scene in the wake of Loki and What If...? season 2's respective releases on Disney+ and point out what they believe to be the unwoven threads of the Multiverse in Valhalla's background.
While the site goes on to theorise that this realm of the dead likely exists outside of time and space similar to Black Panther's Ancestral Plane and the Duat and Field of Reeds from Moon Knight, they also share a potentially very exciting Thor 5 rumour.
"Our sources confirmed that part of the early ideas of the forthcoming Thor 5 film involve Valhalla as one of the upcoming locations," they explain, "exploring another aspect of Norse mythology."
The implications of this are likely to be significant. For example, if Thor dies in battle against Hercules, then it means he'll be reunited with many of the friends he's lost over the years...many of whom are likely to come in very handy when the Multiverse's Mightiest Heroes need to assemble against Kang.
"If Valhalla exists outside of the known Multiverse, could this imply that this Hall is open to ALL possible variants of Norse characters in the Marvel Multiverse, not just Earth-616?" the site wonders. "Could Valhalla be the home to multiple Thor variants or variants that possess the power of Thor?"
You can see where this is heading, right? Yes, this may indeed be how Marvel Studios goes about introducing the Thor Corps. We're not sure what their essentially being "dead" will mean, but if you're familiar with Thor's comic book adventures, then you'll know that death means little to Asgardians and that Valhalla is really just another realm, like Hel, they often travel to and from.
Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi has taken himself out of the running to helm Thor 5 but Rogue One: A Star Wars Story helmer Gareth Edwards has since become a rumoured frontrunner. Here's what he said about those claims last year:
"I saw those rumors, too. I saw it and I jokingly sent it to my girlfriend. I just texted her the link and said, ‘I didn’t want you to find out this way.' I’ve never heard anything about it. It’s totally...the internet is an incredible place. I love those movies. I love Marvel, a lot of my friends work on Marvel films. I love all the other movies and franchises, I go to see them. I have most of them on my DVD/Blu-ray shelf. But I really want to keep pursuing original sci-fi. Was that a very politically correct answer? I never say never. In the right circumstances, absolutely."
Thor 5 doesn't currently have a confirmed release date.