17 Jul – Will lightning strike twice with "Thor 4"? The higher-ups seem to be hoping so as they've once again roped in Taika Waititi to helm the next Thor movie. While "Thor 4" was never previously confirmed, the success of "Thor: Ragnarok" has led to speculations of a fourth movie being made, and this latest news from The Hollywood Reporter has now confirmed just that. Though it wasn't reported that Chris Hemsworth will be returning as Thor, it can only be expected since the actor has played the God of Thunder in eight MCU movies (including an uncredited cameo in "Doctor Strange"). While theories of Hemsworth sticking around with his Thor role started speculating since he was seen boarding the same ship as the Guardians of the Galaxy crew in "Avengers: Endgame", giving fans hope that he will appear in "Guardians of the Galaxy 3", this recent "Thor 4" news has prompted another thought.
It seems that Waititi and James Gunn will be filming their respective Thor and Guardians movies at about the same time, so the possibility of Thor appearing in both movies now seems pretty low. It is reported that Waititi will have to delay his work on the live-action adaptation of Japanese manga "Akira", which was supposed to be released in May 2021, so that he can begin production on "Thor 4" as early as next year. Gunn, meanwhile, is also gunning for a 2020 production date for the third Guardians movie once he's wrapped up "The Suicide Squad". There's no release date set for "Thor 4" yet but it is expected to be part of the Phase 4 lineup, which currently includes Scarlett Johansson's "Black Widow" movie, Angelina Jolie's "The Eternals", "Black Panther 2", "Doctor Strange 2", "Guardians of the Galaxy 3" and the first movie focused on Shang-Chi, which is now casting for a Chinese male lead to play the title role.