At the end of Thor: Love and Thunder, we got confirmation that Valhalla is real, and Asgardians go there when they die in battle. Now, a reported leak suggests that we might see more of the Asgardian afterlife in Thor 5.
The Cosmic Circus reports that, according to their sources, some early ideas for Thor 5 include exploring more of Valhalla. It’s not clear whether these ideas are still being considered, or whether they’ve been scrapped. It’s also not clear what form an exploration of Valhalla would take. I should also stress that this leak is unconfirmed, so you should take it with a Mjolnir-sized grain of salt.
The Cosmic Circus points out another interesting detail in Thor: Love and Thunder. In the movie’s post-credits scene, Jane (Natalie Portman) finds herself in Valhalla after she dies fighting Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale). Once there, Jane is greeted by Heimdall (Idris Elba). If you look closely at the sky above Jane, you can see the Sacred Timeline from Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. That means that Valhalla could potentially shed some light on the structure of Marvel’s multiverse. Does each universe have its own afterlife? Does Valhalla exist outside of space and time? People have been debating these questions!
So what part could Valhalla play in Thor 5?
We know that Hercules (Brett Goldstein) is hunting Thor to get revenge on him for wounding and humiliating Zeus (Russell Crowe) in Love and Thunder. Is Thor going to die in Thor 5? Or might he seek help from old friends who have passed on?
One thing I definitely don’t want is a cynical cameo-fest of dead characters. But, interestingly, the last shot of Love and Thunder is Jane taking in her new life as one of Asgard’s heroic dead. Is it possible that Jane’s story isn’t over yet? Could Jane perhaps become a valkyrie?
In the comics, Jane’s time as Mighty Thor has a similar ending to the movie: thanks to her frequent transformations, her cancer kills her. However, in the comics, Jane is brought back to life and becomes a valkyrie. If Thor 5 explores the afterlife more, then it could serve as a way to make Jane a valkyrie in the MCU, too.
That’d be pretty neat! Plus, Thor and Loki’s storylines have drifted so far from Norse mythology that they’re almost unrecognizable. It’d be nice to bring at least one of those storylines back to the characters’ roots.
Again, this is all pretty hefty speculation. It’s fun to dream, though!
(via The Cosmic Circus, featured image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
