Major spoilers follow for Thor: Love and Thunder. You’ve been warned.
Thor: Love and Thunder has finally stormed into theaters – and we suspect you have a number of questions about the latest Marvel movie‘s ending.
The Marvel Phase 4 project leaves a number of plot threads hanging in the air. The fates of certain characters are unclear, plus the film’s post-credits scenes tease the arrival of new superheroes/gods and suggest that a Thor spin-off project could be in the works. Meanwhile, the god of thunder’s own MCU journey may not be over just yet, either. Suffice to say, then, there’s a lot for Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fans to ponder once the credits have rolled.
That’s where we come in. Below, we’ll walk you through Thor: Love and Thunder’s ending, including the fates of specific characters and the arrival of a new superpowered individual. We’ll also discuss who appears in its mid- and post-credits scenes and speculate on what they could mean for the MCU moving forward.
As you might expect, full spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder follow. If you haven’t seen the superhero film yet – why are you here if that’s the case!? – you’ll definitely want to turn back now. Before you do, though, be sure to check out our spoiler-free review of Thor 4, which will give a good idea of what to expect from the Norse god’s latest solo adventure.
Thor: Love and Thunder ending explained: Gorr’s plan revealed
In a bid to stop Gorr the God Butcher from killing, well, every god in the MCU, Thor and company travel to Omnipotence City – the parliament of pantheons where the MCU’s gods convene to discuss pressing matters concerning the universe.
Thor, Jane (aka The Mighty Thor), Valkyrie, and Korg implore Zeus, Omnipotence City’s commander-in-chief, to aid them in their quest. However, a reluctant and arrogant Zeus turns them down, saying the gods are safe in Omnipotence City, and any gods already slain by Gorr were worth sacrificing in the grand scheme of the cosmos.
Zeus also tells Thor what Gorr’s likely masterplan is: Gorr wishes to reach the gates of Eternity, a secret location where one of the MCU’s cosmic entities – i.e. Eternity – resides. In the comics, Eternity is the de facto leader of abstract beings known collectively as the Cosmic Powers of the Marvel Universe. Eternity’s powers are limitless but, in Thor: Love and Thunder, Gorr is after one specific ability that Eternity possesses: that being, the power to alter the universe in any way that it (or another being) sees fit. As long as someone wishes for it, anyway.
If Gorr reaches Eternity, he can wish for anything he wants – unsurprisingly, Gorr’s wish is to wipe out every god in existence. Oh, and to make matters worse, Zeus says the quartet can’t leave either, as Gorr will be able to find Omnipotence City, learn of Eternity’s location, and carry out his masterplan.
Enraged, Thor calls Zeus a coward – a comment that infuriates Zeus and leads to a battle between Zeus’ guards and Thor’s gang. In the ensuing skirmish, Zeus’ thunderbolt weapon strikes Korg – destroying the Kronan’s body in the process.
Devastated, Thor takes his anger out on Zeus. He catches Zeus’ thunderbolt, throws it back at the Olympian god, and pierces Zeus’ heart with his own weapon. Zeus falls from his floating platform and appears to die from his chest wound. Thor grabs Zeus’ thunderbolt – the weapon they supposedly need to stop Gorr. Thor, Jane, Valkyrie, and Korg – who is surprisingly still alive after his head survives Zeus’ attack – flee on their cosmic barge, which is towed by Thor’s screaming goats in Toothgnasher and Toothgrinder.
The group travel to the Shadow Realm to rescue New Asgard’s children (after Gorr kidnapped them earlier in the film), fight Gorr, and stop his plan coming to fruition. However, Thor, Valkyrie and Jane are walking into a trap. Stumbling upon a written version of Gorr’s plan, Jane realizes that Gorr needs Stormbreaker – Thor’s ax – so he can access the Bifrost and open the gates to Eternity. Racing to tell the others, Jane grabs Stormbreaker and throws it away right before Gorr captures her, Valkyrie, and Thor.
Gorr tells Thor to recall his ax or he’ll kill Jane and Valkyrie. Wanting to save his friend and his ex-girlfriend, Thor does so, but he uses Stormbreaker to free the trio from Gorr’s shadow binds. An almighty battle follows, but the trio aren’t strong enough to defeat Gorr on his home turf, resulting in Valkyrie being seriously injured. They try to flee using the Bifrost, but Gorr wrestles Stormbreaker from Thor’s hands as they leave. The trio are carried to safety by the Bifrost and Gorr heads off, with Stormbreaker in hand, to complete the final phase of his mission.
Thor: Love and Thunder ending explained: who is Love, India Hemsworth’s character?
Returning to Earth, a desolate and Stormbreaker-less Thor is given even more bad news: Mjolnir is inadvertently killing Jane faster than previously thought. Every time she uses Mjolnir, it drains her life energy, meaning that Jane’s body is unable to continue fighting the stage four cancer she’s afflicted with. Thor subsequently forbids Jane from using Mjolnir any more and, acquiring Zeus’ thunderbolt from Valkyrie, heads to the gates of Eternity to face Gorr alone.
Upon arrival, Thor finds Gorr already using Stormbreaker to, well, break the gates of Eternity. He rescues New Asgard’s children and, instructing them to find a weapon, uses his famous “if they be worthy, they shall possess the power of Thor” speech to imbue the kids’ makeshift weapons with his lightning superpowers.
Empowered by Thor, the kids help the Norse god slay Gorr’s shadow monsters, creating a path for Thor to reach Gorr. Thor, though, is still no match for his adversary, who nearly kills him with the Necrosword.
Back on earth, Jane feels every blow that Thor takes – the duo are intertwined, after all, through their connection to Mjolnir. The hammer calls out to Jane to help its former master and, despite Thor telling her not to, Jane chooses to wield Mjolnir once more. Using the Bifrost, she travels to the gates of Eternity to rescue Thor and turn the tables on Gorr.
As Jane battles the God Butcher, Thor releases Stormbreaker from its shadow-bound prison. The two Thors team up and break the Necrosword and, to stop it reforming, Jane uses Mjolnir’s shards to trap the Necrosword’s broken blade. Calling forth her lightning powers one last time, Jane destroys the Necrosword, freeing Gorr from the blade’s curse.
However, the two Thors are too late. Stormbreaker and the Bifrost opened the gates of Eternity before Thor could stop them, allowing Gorr to walk into Eternity’s realm and wish for the destruction of the MCU’s gods.
The duo follow Gorr through the portal. Thor implores Gorr to stop, telling him that he doesn’t truly seek revenge on the gods. Thor says that Gorr actually seeks love, which Gorr lost when his daughter died in the film’s opening act. Thor walks away from Gorr to be with Jane, who used the last of her life force to destroy the Necrosword and is now close to death. Gorr berates Thor for turning his back on him, but the god of thunder replies that he’d rather be with the woman he loves before Gorr’s wish slays him and every other god. In a last-ditch attempt to stop Gorr, Thor tells him that he can bring his daughter back with his wish, rather than destroy every god in existence.
An emotional Gorr responds that his daughter will be alone if he brings her back – after all, Gorr may be free of the Necrosword’s curse, but he’s doomed to die without it. Heartwarmingly, Thor and Jane tell him his daughter won’t be alone, suggesting they’ll care for her, which allows Gorr to realizes the error of his ways.
In an epiphanous moment, he asks Eternity to bring his daughter back to life. Eternity grants his request and, after an emotional reunion, Gorr dies – but not before Thor gives Gorr his word that he’ll protect his daughter. Jane and Thor share an equally sad moment, too, with the former unable to hold on any longer. Jane dies in Thor’s arms; her body turning to gold dust in the same way Odin’s did in Thor: Ragnarok.
In the next scene, an unknown amount of time has passed. A statue of Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor has been erected in New Asgard, while Korg – whose body has grown back – falls in love with another Kronan called Dwayne.
Meanwhile, Thor has become a surrogate father to Gorr’s daughter, who is played by Chris Hemsworth’s own daughter India. He tries and fails to make her eat some pancakes he cooks up before the pair decide to leave their new home. Stepping outside, it’s revealed that the duo are leaving a spaceship before stepping out onto an unknown world. As they do so, they spot the planet’s inhabitants under attack from another alien race.
Thor passes Stormbreaker to Gorr’s daughter to wield in the forthcoming fight, who also seems to have her own superpowers, too, given that her eyes glow purple. It appears that her rebirth, thanks to Eternity, has imbued her with superhuman abilities. It’s unclear, though, if Gorr’s daughter is Eternity in physical form, or if she’s just a conduit for Eternity’s cosmic superpowers.
Thor grabs the reassembled Mjolnir and, as the duo charge towards the fight, a voice over form Korg states the MCU’s newest dynamic duo shall now be known as Love (presumably the name given to Gorr’s daughter by Thor) and Thunder. You know, the title of the film. Clever, eh?
Thor: Love and Thunder mid-credits scene explained: Hercules enters the MCU
It appears that Thor won’t have long to bask in the glow of another galaxy-saving adventure, though.
In Thor: Love and Thunder’s first post-credits scene, it’s revealed that Zeus is still alive. Although, judging by his somewhat breathless state, and the fact that his wound doesn’t seem to be healing that well despite the medical attention he’s receiving, it’s uncertain if he’ll survive for much longer.
Still, he’s clearly got an ax (see what we did there?) to grind with Thor. Zeus angrily insists that the cosmos will learn to fear its gods again, he calls on his son to embark on a quest to find Thor and take his life.
The camera pans up and over to Zeus’ offspring – and it’s none other than Hercules! Not only that, but Hercules will be portrayed in the MCU by Brett Goldstein, who plays fan favorite character Roy Kent (and also co-writes) Ted Lasso, the hit Apple TV Plus show. Well well well, we did not see that coming.
What does this mean for Thor’s future in the MCU? Based on the fact that a post-credits stinger says “Thor will return”, it’s likely that Chris Hemsworth will be back for an unprecedented fifth solo Thor movie. Expect him to take on Goldstein’s Hercules in a keenly anticipated showdown, then. Thor 5: Clash of the Titans, anyone?
Thor: Love and Thunder post-credits scene explained: is Jane really dead?
It seems that Jane’s MCU journey may not be over yet either. Okay, we all saw Jane die at the end of Thor: Love and Thunder, but the film’s actual post-credits scene suggests that she could appear in the MCU down the line.
As it turns out, Jane rocks up at a beautiful looking location – in Asgardian robes no less – following her death. And, after she gets over the initial shock of being “alive” again, she’s greeted by Idris Elba’s Heimdall, who perished at Thanos’ hands in Avengers: Infinity War. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Heimdall welcomes Jane to Valhalla.
So, could Marvel Studios be planning a Jane Foster/Mighty Thor spin-off? It’s possible, plus MCU insiders (such as MyTimetoShineHello (opens in new tab)) have claimed that Portman’s Foster could get her own film or TV series. Time will tell if such a project is put into active development but, if enough Marvel fans want it, we wouldn’t be shocked if the Disney subsidiary greenlights one.
Thor: Love and Thunder is available in theaters worldwide now.