With Marvel Studios about to lean full-tilt into the X-Men Universe after Avengers: Secret Wars, I can’t help but wonder what could happen to legacy characters like Captain America, Hulk, Thor, and more. Evans, Ruffalo, and Hemsworth can’t play these characters forever. So, where does that leave us? Thankfully, Kenneth Branagh, who directed 2011’s Thor, has some ideas, at least for what Marvel could do with the God of Thunder. In a new interview with Business Insider, Branagh explains why he didn’t return for Thor: The Dark World, and what he’d like to see while at the helm of Thor 5.
Branagh on taking a break from the MCU and his Thor 5 idea
While discussing why he did not return for Thor: The Dark World, Branagh said he “definitely was ready for another, for sure, but not right then. Marvel shoots are intense. Marvel postproduction is more intense — wildly exciting but super intense. I definitely needed to smell the roses. Kevin Feige was very understanding, and so was the cast. I needed a break.”
Still, with Marvel developing Thor 5, fans can’t help but wonder if Branagh would return to direct the next chapter of the character’s godly adventures. When asked if he had any ideas for Thor 5, Branagh pitched a Logan-like ending for the blond behemoth, saying, “part of me would love to finish my relationship with that character. I’d always wanted to do more and indeed had a couple of ideas, more in the territory of James Mangold’s brilliant Logan. I would love to see Chris Hemsworth and the others have their own individual final story that takes Thor into a glorious twilight.”
Branagh loves the other Thor movies
Branagh goes on to say he’s seen the other Thor movies and loved them. He feels a “tremendous sense of pride and amazement” at what other filmmakers have accomplished with the character, though he’s not upset that he did not return for Thor: The Dark World. “I don’t have it in me,” Branagh told Marvel when the studio asked him to direct a follow-up to 2011’s Thor. Still, with enough time away from the MCU, Marvel could convince Branagh to return for another larger-than-life production.
I would be 100% down for an Old Man Thor movie. Marvel Comics likes to explore characters in their twilight years, and I don’t see why Marvel Studios couldn’t do the same. A premise like that could make for some great drama. I hope it happens.
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