Did Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 Just Drop Thor?
Thor: Love & Thunder is set BEFORE Guardians 3...
The announcement of Thor's fourth chapter at Comic Con might have been very exciting for the prospect of seeing Jane Foster as the new Goddess of Thunder, but it's posed a fairly big question for Thor's ongoing presence in the MCU.
After all, the last we saw of the newly chonk God Of Thunder, he'd cast himself out into exciting exile from Asgard, handing the reins over to Valkyrie. He was all set for a holiday with the Guardians Of The Galaxy, presumably more than happy with the idea that his entire arc was being smashed into pieces.
But now, because James Gunn was rehired and he has to make The Suicide Squad before he can complete Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3, the MCU release schedule means that Thor 4 is coming before the third Guardians. Which poses a slight problem, given that Chris Hemsworth has been confirmed to be in Thor: Love & Thunder too, as you'd sort of expect even with Jane Foster taking over Mjolnir.
Now, this all could have been fixed by Marvel simply doing the same as they are with Black Widow and setting Guardians Vol 3 after Endgame and before Love & Thunder. And we all could have just gone about our business, getting excited about the prospect of seeing the God Of Thunder joining the Guardians on an adventure, but that's now not really possible thanks to a clarification from James Gunn that could kill those hopes entirely.
As he is wont to do, Gunn has been talking to fans on Twitter and responded to a fan asking when Thor 4 was set in relation to his movie, offering a simple "before." He wouldn't be drawn on Thor being involved in his own movie either - apart from jokingly clarifying that he won't be in The Suicide Squad. It wasn't ever possible, but now he mentions it, that's disappointing!
Anyway, what this means is that Guardians Vol 3 cannot kick off right as Endgame ends, despite the Guardians seemingly heading out to find Gamora, whether they are aware of it or not. Which means Gunn is going to have to explain what happened in the time between those events and them getting on with their business of finding Gamora - there'll have to be some impediment to Star-Lord not being able to find her somehow. And that's not to mention how he'll explain the prolonged inactivity of Ayesha, who is apparently filled with vengeful rage when we saw her at the end of Guardians Vol 2. Maybe she can just be made to sit watching Adam Warlock gestate?
More specifically for Thor, it would seem that he now won't be a part of Guardians Vol 3. He can't be. For him to appear in Love & Thunder, he has to return from wherever he's been with the Guardians (whether with a handwave suggesting they DID go on an adventure or because he's drawn back by disaster). And the idea of him dealing with whatever he needs to in New Asgard - particularly if it's going to be linked to Natalie Portman's Jane being ill - and then going back out on his space adventures is a little... odd. It would be clunky and weird, actually.
There's just no way it can work, which is a massive shame, but it does come with an unforeseen bonus.
When James Gunn left Guardians Vol 3, Taika Waititi was one of the most hotly-tipped replacements for him in the director's chair - to the point where he had to distance himself. And while Gunn returning is great, the missed opportunity of a Waititi Guardians movie would always hang around in the background. The positive we can take from Thor potentially dropping out of Guardians Vol 3 is that in order for him to return to Earth and New Asgard at some point, we're going to have to see the Guardians. Which means we're going to get to see Waititi directing them.
So there's a silver lining there, at least.
To be honest, having Thor in Guardians Vol 3 would have been good for the gags and his rewarding dynamic with Star-Lord, but that humour probably fits a Waititi movie better anyway. And that's not to mention the fact that Vol 3 has a LOT of story to deal with: there are hints of Ayesha and Adam Warlock's story, which should be a fair chunk of the narrative and also the quest to find Gamora. Then there are unresolved threads involving Rocket's past, rumours of Moondragon's appearance to tie back to Drax's past and the need to explore Mantis a little more to stop her being a glorified supporting figure.
Maybe this is the right move, in the end? What do you think?