10 Characters Who Can Replace Thor In The MCU

It’s unclear what Thor‘s future in the MCU will look like, but whenever the powerful Asgardian Avenger’s time is done, there are several other heroes who can fill his spot in Marvel’s movie franchise. Thor’s MCU timeline stretches longer than most other heroes’, as only he and a few others from the MCU Phase 1 are still alive and active. However, despite having a lifespan in the ballpark of 5000 years, Thor probably won’t stay in the MCU forever.

The Thor: Love and Thunder ending promised that Thor will return, but that’s no guarantee for more than one more showing. Fortunately, while there’s nobody in the MCU quite like Thor, many people embody certain elements of his personality or power set. In Thor’s absence, any number of them can step up and fill his role in the MCU.

10 Hercules Could Fill Thor’s Role As A Heroic Mythological Figure

One of the big differentiators that makes Thor stand out from his fellow Avengers is that he’s a mythological god. Though the first Thor movie played down the idea of Asgardians being gods or having magic, the franchise has gone hard in the other direction, and someone like Hercules could fill that gap in the MCU. Zeus has sent Hercules to get vengeance on Thor, so he’ll presumably be a major player in Thor 5‘s story if it’s made. Hercules is a popular and recurring character in Marvel Comics, so there’s plenty of material to adapt, and it would be interesting to focus on a completely new pantheon of Gods.

9 Thor’s Adopted Daughter Love Is A Powerful Cosmic Being

At the end of Thor: Love and Thunder, Gorr uses his wish from Eternity to resurrect his daughter. Thor promises to take her in, and the movie’s final shot shows that she’s following in her father’s footsteps and becoming a warrior and protector of those in need. In a few years, post Avengers: Secret Wars, Love may have aged up enough to step out of Thor’s tutelage. Furthermore, Love and Thunder concept art confirms that Eternity is still inside Love, so she is, at least in part, a powerful cosmic entity just like Thor. She’s even last seen wielding Stormbreaker, so she’s got the iconic weapon role filled, too.

8 Black Bolt Leads His People As Thor Does

Thor has a complicated relationship with his role as the de-facto leader of Asgard and its people, ultimately deciding that Valkyrie is better off as King than he. Regardless, even if he isn’t actually Asgard’s monarch, he’s still a de-facto leader of the powerful city. When Thor leaves the MCU, Black Bolt could fill a similar role as a leader who often undergoes great struggle in the name of leadership. Blackagar Boltagon is the monarch of Attilan, home of the Inhumans, which has only been seen on the Inhumans TV show so far. Boltagon has also been briefly seen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

7 Sentry Could Be The Next God-Tier Avenger

Sentry has not yet appeared in the MCU, but that may soon change. Despite no official confirmation, rumors have swirled that Steven Yeun will play Sentry in the upcoming Thunderbolts film. If he does appear, Sentry would match Thor in terms of raw power, even though he’s not a god. Unfortunately, Sentry’s powers come with a massive downside. The Void is a villainous manifestation birthed from Sentry, and after it causes massive destruction in NYC, Sentry wipes the world’s memory, including his own, that he’s a superpower. It’s a wildly different story than Thor’s, but there are few others who operate on the God of Thunder’s power level.

6 Loki’s Redemption Could Make Him An Asgardian Avenger

Perhaps no character has undergone as complicated of a character journey in the MCU as Loki. Originally Thor’s jealous brother and a would-be dictator, Loki has grown into a selfless and heroic being who may be the multiverse’s only hope against Kang the Conqueror. Of course, the Loki currently alive in Loki season 2 is a variant of the first one introduced to the MCU, as the original was killed by Thanos. However, Loki season 2’s story may set the God of Mischief up for a grant return to the movies side of the MCU, and if so, he could fill Thor’s spot as Asgard’s representative on The Avengers.

5 Balder The Brave Could Finally Arrive In The MCU

The MCU has featured several Asgardians, but one has been repeatedly cut after almost appearing in the storied franchise. Though he would have been played by actor Daniel Craig, Balder was cut from the first three Thor movies and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the latter of which would have introduced him as a member of the Illuminati. Perhaps, if and when Thor is done in the MCU, Balder can finally debut. As a child of Odin, it may be difficult to explain where Balder has been during the years of the MCU, but Hela set a precedent for the All-Father’s children coming out of nowhere.

4 Lady Sif Could Finally Get Her Due In The MCU

Lady Sif is an important character in Marvel Comics, but the warrior and sometimes love interest of Thor has been relegated to barely a background character in the MCU. Despite having a slightly larger role in the first Thor, Sif has a reduced role in Thor: The Dark World and is missing entirely from Thor: Ragnarok. She makes her return in Thor: Love and Thunder, where she’s briefly shown with an injury that quickly becomes the subject of Thor’s jokes. With Thor’s exit, Sif could step up and claim a bigger place in the MCU as not only a defender of New Asgard but of Earth itself.

3 Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor Can Come Back From The Dead

Jane Foster returned to the MCU in grand fashion when Mjolnir granted her the power of The Mighty Thor. Foster did, of course, die as a result of cancer at the end of Thor: Love and Thunder. However, the same happened in Marvel Comics, and that didn’t stop her from coming back. In the comics, Jane is revived with the combined might of Thor, Odin, and Mjolnir. While that can’t happen in the MCU because of the latter’s death, Jane could return from the halls of Valhalla if a particularly dangerous foe were to threaten her home planet.

2 The MCU Can Pay Off Its Beta Ray Bill Tease

Beta Ray Bill is a strange character, but he’s one that the MCU has already teased and could fill Thor’s spot should he leave the franchise. While on Sakaar in Thor: Ragnarok, busts of past champions are seen adorning the Grandmaster’s Arena. Among them is Beta Ray Bill, though he’s never mentioned or discussed. Bill may look like a humanoid horse, but he’s actually a cybernetic being created by a race called the Korbinites to protect them. Bill is worthy of wielding Mjolnir in Marvel Comics, and there, he’s the wielder of Stombreaker, currently in the possession of Love in the MCU.

1 Moon Knight Isn’t A God, But He’s Empowered By One

Moon Knight is about as different of a hero from Thor as one can be, but they do still share an important connection. Thor is, of course, a god, and Moon Knight – whether he wants to be or not – is the avatar of one. The end of Moon Knight season 1 sees Steven and Marc part ways with their duty to the Egyptian god Khonshu, but the post-credits scene reveals that’s far from the case. Moon Knight isn’t as powerful as Thor and lacks his boyish humor, but if he sees a larger role in the MCU’s future, Moon Knight will keep the franchise’s ties to mythology strong.