Thomas Roach on why a female Thor movie could be closer than you think…
Not too long ago Marvel announced that in its comic books the character Thor is to become a woman. Fans assumed that a female Thor would not appear on the big screen for some time and they may be right. This does just seem to be an experiment in order to get more female readers or to help green light a female led movie. Chris Hemsworth joked at the Avengers: Age of Ultron Comic-Con panel that he was looking forward to playing the female Thor and even hoped it would be his Oscar. Jokes aside, I think that a female Thor movie may be a lot closer than we think.
If you watch Thor there is a scene where the character gets banished by Odin to Earth. As Odin casts Thor out of Asgard he whispers to the hammer Mjolnir ‘Whosever holds this hammer, if he be worthy shall posses the power of Thor’. The idea in the comic book that is due for release later this year is that a woman is worthy enough to be Thor and wields the hammer, thus gaining the powers. She will not have the alter ego Donald Blake like Thor does in the comics – she will only gain the powers of the God of Thunder. Who is to say that this can’t be done in a movie?
So that may not be a lot to go on, but a scene from the Age of Ultron Comic-Confootage may reveal more about who can lift the hammer. In the trailer Tony Stark played by Robert Downey Jr. asks Thor ‘If I lift it do I get to rule Asgard?’ to which Thor replies yes. None of the Avengers are able to lift it. Captain America manages to move it ever so slightly and Thor looks very worried. This shows he knows if someone else was able to lift it then he would lose his power.
For the sake of mixing things up, couldn’t a female character end up lifting the hammer and possessing the powers for some time? Hemsworth joked about it but in the Marvel Cinematic Universe there is the indication that there are other people out there who could be worthy of the powers of Thor. I am sure many people will be against this and a female Thor movie may not happen ever, but I do think its fair to say that this would be plausible in the series’ lore.
Kevin Feige has also said he wants to do a female led movie but casts doubts on doing it any time soon. 2019 is said to be the earliest time a female led movie would happen. We assume this will be Ms. Marvel but why not a female Thor? Not matter your feelings on the matter it could easily work on screen – people just need to give it a chance.
Do you think a female Thor movie could happen soon? Let us know in the comments…
Thomas Roach
Originally published August 8, 2014. Updated January 18, 2020.
