Thor 5 villain: is Ares the real threat, not Hercules?

There was a lot of news on Thor 5 at the time, and from what I was hearing, Ares, not Hercules, might be the real villain of the next Thor movie. Reports also pointed to the Thor Corps arriving in the film, and that could set up something big for Avengers: Secret Wars if Marvel takes a page from the comics.

Thor 5 would follow Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), starring Chris Hemsworth. It looked like Thor 5 would release between Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, because it was aiming to start production in early 2025. That pointed to a busy year for Marvel Studios. Avengers: Doomsday was due to start filming the following month, and Spider-Man 4 was also set to begin filming that year. Thor 5 on top of that, plus any Disney Plus shows they might start, made for a pretty busy year. I saw it as great news, because it meant more projects were coming, and I was looking forward to Thor 5.

George Miller met with Marvel Studios about Thor 5

It was revealed that Chris Hemsworth set up a meeting between Marvel Studios and George Miller, who directed the Mad Max series. Hemsworth had worked with Miller on Furiosa, and both of them had already said they would love to work together again.

Miller has also said he is a fan of the MCU. He follows it and he loves it. With that meeting having taken place, it looked like he could possibly be our director for the film.

Is Hercules the villain of Thor 5, or is it Ares?

The big question fans had been asking was whether Hercules would be the villain of the next Thor movie. Many people wondered about this because in the comics, Hercules and Thor are friends, and close ones at that. According to reliable insider Alex Perez from The Cosmic Circus, Ares will be a main character in Thor 5, which suggests the real villain might be Ares.

That could explain a lot, including how Hercules and Thor might stop fighting and become friends. In the comics, Ares, the God of War, hates Hercules. He tries to overthrow Zeus and take over Olympus, which ultimately leads to Thor helping Hercules.

Hercules is the son of Zeus, and he was set up in the post-credits scene of Thor: Love and Thunder. Zeus wants him to go after Thor because of what happened in that film. Thor took Zeus's Thunderbolt and shot him through the chest with it before he left.

Why Ares hates Hercules in the comics

Zeus has another son in Ares, the God of War, who never liked Hercules. In fact, he hated him, and that hatred grew when he noticed that Hercules was favored by their father more than him. Being the God of War, Ares had some brutal behavior, as you would expect, and he was shunned.

As time went on, Ares and war became more and more shunned while Hercules remained loved. That grudge against his brother eventually led Ares to try to overthrow Olympus, more than once.

Why Olympus is vulnerable to Ares after Love and Thunder

If we think about where Olympus and Zeus stand now, this would be the perfect time for Ares to strike. Zeus is hurt and he doesn't have his Thunderbolt. On top of that, he sent his son Hercules away from Olympus to find Thor. So Zeus is wounded, he's without his best weapon, and he's without his best fighter. If you're Ares, you probably look at that and think this is your moment to take over Olympus and kick Zeus out.

That makes it easy to see how this could lead to a Thor and Hercules team up. Hercules could find out what's happening and realize that Thor wasn't the bad guy. Thor was trying to save everything from Gorr, while Zeus was a little afraid of Gorr, and that might not sit well with Hercules. I'm sure Hercules will eventually realize Thor wasn't in the wrong too much, and then he'll learn that his brother has tried to take over Olympus, or might even have succeeded.

This would also be a perfect opportunity for Thor to get back in with Zeus. Thor said he idolized him. With lightning and thunder, they're very similar, and Zeus is a god Thor looks up to. If they work multiversal elements into this movie, which I'm sure they are, Thor might think it's a good thing to have Zeus and Hercules on his side to help save the multiverse. I'm excited to see Thor, Hercules and Ares on screen together.

Alex Perez says Thor 5 will introduce the Thor Corps

I'm also excited for the Thor Corps. According to Alex Perez, Thor 5 will introduce the Thor Corps, or the hammer brothers, as Beta Ray Bill likes to call them. There have been a few different versions of the Thor Corps. On Earth 616, it was a future version of Thor coming into the past, the present version of Thor, who was Eric Masterson, and Beta Ray Bill.

The MCU has a different Thor Corps set up already. Jane Foster is technically dead and in Valhalla, but she can wield Mjolnir. We have our regular Thor played by Chris Hemsworth. And we'd been told Beta Ray Bill will show up in Thor 5. That is not confirmed; it's rumors.

Still, Marvel would be pretty dumb not to include him at this point. We've waited four movies for him, we've had Easter eggs of him, and we've seen the Korbinites, his own species, in Avengers: Endgame. It's about time they throw him in there, and if there's going to be a Thor Corps, he needs to be part of it. If the MCU goes with bringing people back from Valhalla, many different characters could be included too.

How the Thor Corps could tie Thor 5 into Avengers: Secret Wars

Thor 5 might initially set up a huge story from Secret Wars. In the Secret Wars comics, the Thor Corps are the police force for Doom. They work for Doctor Doom and for Doctor Strange, who is Doom's right hand man, and they do his bidding and maintain order. There are many different variants, and they bring people in to lift the hammer. If someone is worthy enough to lift it, they join the Thor Corps. Ultimately, Jane Foster infiltrates the Thor Corps and convinces them all to turn on Doom, and they rebel against him.

I'd be curious to see this storyline play out starting with Thor 5 and continuing into Secret Wars. Imagine if Thor went into Battleworld and ended up working for Doom because he didn't remember what happened before. In Battleworld, people don't remember their past at all. That's why God Doom is God Doom: he created the world they all live on.

I'd rather Thor be the one who infiltrates Doom's Thor Corps, but there is a possibility that he leads Doom's force instead. Doctor Strange is a similar case. He becomes Sheriff Strange in Battleworld, but he remembers what happened before, because he was there with Doom and Molecule Man when Doom killed the Beyonders. There are many twists and turns that could happen.

Could Loki join Thor and Jane Foster in the Thor Corps?

One twist could be Loki joining the Thor Corps. After essentially saving the multiverse, I'd say he's probably worthy to lift Mjolnir. According to Alex Perez, Marvel Studios wants Thor and Loki to reunite. Perez also says Loki will be dethroned, taken off his throne of time.

Perhaps that's when Loki seeks out Thor, and maybe that's how the Thor Corps starts. They could gather a group of people who can wield Mjolnir or the powers of Thor, since that apparently can happen after Love and Thunder, and try to take on Doom. I would absolutely love to see Thor, Loki, Jane Foster and Beta Ray Bill trying to take on Doctor Doom. That would be fantastic to see on screen.

Amora, Valhalla and the Rune King Thor question

We'd also heard that Amora the Enchantress could be in this movie, along with a rumor that when Thor goes to Valhalla, he gains new powers and abilities. That's just a rumor, but when I hear it, I think of Rune King Thor. That's a dark story that I don't think they'll tell in the MCU. I wish they would, but they probably won't, though maybe we get a version of it.

Taika Waititi is out and George Miller looked like the top candidate

Overall, things were sounding good for Thor 5. Chris Hemsworth has stated that if he does another Thor, it has to be different from Thor: Love and Thunder, which I think many people would agree with. We knew he was going to do one, and we knew he was returning for Doomsday and Secret Wars.

It was confirmed that Taika Waititi would not be returning to direct or write. It sounded like George Miller was the top candidate. I think Furiosa was well received by many people who saw it, and I think Miller could do a good Viking story. I think we could get a hardcore version of Thor from him.

Hemsworth and Miller have both said they want to work together again, and Miller met with Marvel Studios thanks to Hemsworth. So it sounded like he might be our guy, and Marvel was going to have to decide soon whether to start production on the film that year.