So, Is Thor Going to Die in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’?

WhenChris Hemsworthwas the first announced member of the cast ofAvengers: Doomsdayviathe now-infamous director’s chair presentationfrom back in March, it seemingly pointed to the fact thatDoomsdaywould indeed be a real bona fide Avengers movie. On May 28, Hemsworth posted a mysterious tribute video to his time portraying the character of Thor in theMCU, going all the way back to the character’s 2011 introduction, leading to three moreThormovies, as well as appearing in all four priorAvengersmovies.

The video was accompanied by the heartfelt message:

“Playing Thor has been one of the greatest honors of my life. For the last 15 years I’ve held Mjolnir and then Stormbreaker as the God of Thunder, but what made it truly special… was sharing it with all of you. Your passion, your cheers, and your love for this character have meant everything to me.

Thank you for making my journey through the Marvel Cinematic Universe unforgettable.. Next up, Doomsday!”

These two things led to many positing that maybe Hemsworth’s incarnation of Thor might not survive through the end of Avengers: Doomsday, something that could happen for several significant reasons.

Chris Hemsworth’s Thor Has Had Such a Grand Run as the Cornerstone of the MCU

Robert Downey Jr. was already well-known when cast as Tony Stark for Iron Man, but Australian actor Chris Hemsworth wasn’t quite on that same level. Both of Hemsworth’s MGM movies, Cabin in the Woods and Red Dawn, hadn’t even been released yet, but clearly, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige saw something in him. Hemsworth’s Thor was immediately a fan favorite, as his solo Thor movie led to a significant role in 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers. The rest, as they say, is history. Despite being a god from Asgard, Hemsworth’s portrayal of the character lent a lot more humor to every scene in which Thor appeared, making the thought of him dying quite distressing to diehard MCU fans.

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Thus far, there hasn’t been a single Avengers movie that did not include Hemsworth’s Thor. His character’s third solo movie, the Taika Waititi-directed Thor: Ragnarok, firmly clinched his popularity, as we finally had a chance to see Thor fight Mark Ruffalo‘s Hulk. In that movie, Anthony Hopkins’ Odin died, and he has yet to come back.

Thor Has Died So Many Times in the Comics… but Never for Very Long

It might be hard to believe, but even Norse Gods can die when it comes to Marvel Comics, and there have been quite a few times when Thor either outright died or just disappeared and was replaced by another incarnation. Even though the Marvel movies never gave Thor his Dr. Donald Blake alter ego, that was the main iteration of the character in the comics for decades. When Thor “died” — usually as part of a big event like Ragnarok (the biggest!) — someone else would take his place. Has anyone reading this even heard of Eric Masterson, aka Thunderstrike? Others, like the alien Beta Ray Bill, were also on call whenever Thor would “die” in the comics, so Marvel has plenty of options if they were to go that route by killing Hemsworth’s Thor. Even Natalie Portman‘s Jane Foster held Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor, both in the comics and in Thor: Love and Thunder, but is that even an option anymore?

It’s a well-known truth that no one stays dead for long in comics. Case in point: Bucky Barnes. As in the movies, his death played a major part in Captain America’s origin, which left the “First Avenger” frozen in ice for decades. In the comics, Bucky was dead for many decades before the introduction of the Winter Soldier. The first two Captain America movies were just three years apart, and that’s not quite as effective since most people knew that Sebastian Stan would be back as soon as Captain America: The Winter Soldier was announced.

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A character might die in the MCU for other reasons, and it might be just that actors are ready to move on in their careers… after making bucket loads of money, mind you. Then again, both Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and Scarlet Johansson‘s Black Widow died in Avengers: Endgame, then Black Widow returned for her own movie just a few years later (even though the events of that film were before Endgame). It’s already known that Downey is also returning, but as Dr. Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. Thor has always played such an important part of the Avengers pantheon, but there may be no better way of showing how powerful Downey’s Dr. Doom is than having him take out a veritable god.

We’ll have to wait a little longer to see if Hemsworth’s Thor dies in Doomsday, due to the film’s recent delay. If that happens, there’s little doubt that Hemsworth and the character will get a send-off befitting a god, since the character has played such a pivotal role in the MCU for nearly 15 years. Or maybe Thor will just be called back to rule Asgard without formally dying and going to Valhalla. There’s a very good chance Hemsworth’s initial contract has run out, and Marvel knows how much more he deserves to get paid to do even one more MCU movie after Doomsday.

Thor is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.