Content Warning: SPOILERS Ahead For Love And Thunder!
Thor: Love and Thunder triumphs with yet another emotionally resonant story about the God of Thunder and his remarkably emotional journey throughout the cosmos. Thor’s latest adventure causes him to cross paths with the Greek pantheon of Zeus (Russell Crowe), whose son Hercules (Brett Goldstein) makes a surprise appearance in the mid-credits scene.
Fans of Marvel Comics recognize the significance of the Greek gods’ arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the beings are a major part of several famous storylines and have been a part of the company’s catalog of characters for decades. With their future still uncertain, fans are left to wonder where exactly Hercules and the other gods of Olympus will show up next in the franchise.
Guardians Of The Galaxy, Volume 3
May of 2023 promises to be a major month for Marvel fans, as it is currently expected to host the premiere of the highly-anticipated Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3. With James Gunn returning to the director’s chair and the entire cast of beloved characters set to return for a third and final outing, fans are preparing themselves for a fittingly zany (and emotional) conclusion to one of the MCU’s very best trilogies.
Although the next Guardians film is already filled to brimming with characters, the MCU specializes in overblown casts, and could certainly justify including the second appearance of several exciting new characters to the franchise. Hercules and Zeus were last seen pledging revenge against their rival Thor, who is known to have recent dealings with the Guardians of the Galaxy. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch at all for the vengeful Hercules to pursue Thor’s one-time teammates in hopes of discovering the god of thunder’s location.
The Champions
The Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to be adding numerous teams to its ranks during Phase 4, hinting that audiences could see minor team-ups in between major Avengers crossover events. One team that may get its live-action debut in the near future is the Champions, a minor group from the comics that is led by Hercules himself.
Though the Champions might initially seem like an obscure title to adapt in the MCU, it wouldn’t be the first time that the mega-franchise has brought relatively unknown titles into prominence. A team-up project that features the Champions could be the perfect place to develop Hercules’s character, giving him an opportunity to display his leadership skills among a group of other superhumans. This could also provide a rift between Hercules and his father, who likely wouldn’t approve of such a team.
World War Hulk Crossover
Recent theories in the MCU fandom have circulated that a World War Hulk film could be in the works at Marvel Studios, which would adapt the classic 2007 comic storyline of the same name by Greg Pak in which the Hulk returns to Earth with an army of Sakaarans, declaring war on the members of the Illuminati that shot him into space. While the project remains unconfirmed, the mere notion is enough to get fans buzzing.
Fans of Marvel Comics will know that Hercules plays an important behind-the-scenes role in the “World War Hulk” storyline as one of the few Earth-bound heroes to side with Hulk over his anger at the Illuminati and even takes over the Hulk’s comic title in the event’s aftermath. His half-brother Ares also plays a major role in this storyline, as one of the Avengers during Hulk’s invasion. Both characters could prove to be vital parts of the MCU’s adaptation of this classic story.
Secret Invasion
Secret Invasion is the next massive comics event being adapted for the MCU, with a Disney+ series starring Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders’s Maria Hill set to debut in late 2022 or early 2023. The series is set to adapt the iconic 2008 comic storyline by Brian Michael Bendis, which revealed that several key superheroes had been replaced by Skrull operatives, leading to an all-out invasion of Earth.
Hercules had a part to play in the original “Secret Invasion” storyline, leading a group of gods from various pantheons in an aptly-named “Sacred Invasion” wherein they attempted to assassinate the Skrull god Sl’gur’t and thereby end the alien attack on Earth. These gods are even gathered by Hercules’s half-sister Athena, who has yet to make her MCU debut. While this particular storyline may initially seem outlandish for this particular miniseries, it is far too early to rule anything out for this exciting installment of the MCU.
Secret Wars
Many fans are convinced that the next Avengers film will adapt the Secret Wars storyline from the comics. The paramount comic storyline, which originally debuted in 1984 before being adapted once more in 2015, sees the mightiest heroes of Earth taken to the bizarre Battleworld for the amusement of the otherworldly Beyonder. A prospective MCU adaption is expected to follow the 2015 story, which grafts in the existence of the multiverse, merging Earth-616 and Marvel’s Ultimate Earth.
When it inevitably comes to fruition, Secret Wars will be one of the biggest events the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever depicted. it would be difficult to imagine that even the sedentary Greek gods would sit out an event like this, especially when their own lives hang in the balance as well. One can imagine that Zeus would send a champion, likely either Zeus or Ares, to assist the Avengers in this all-out war for the existence of the universe itself.
Thor 5
Despite Chris Hemsworth and Taika Waititi playing coy about future Thor team-ups during the promotional campaign for Love and Thunder, the latest film’s ending seems to imply that the God of Thunder isn’t quite finished in the MCU. The credits’ closing promise that “Thor will return” seems to imply that Thor could very well receive a fifth solo outing in the near future.
A potential fifth Thor film seems like the most likely location of Hercules’s next appearance, given the nature of Love and Thunder‘s mid-credits scene. The quick tag made it quite clear that Thor has landed firmly in Hercules’s crosshairs after gravely injuring his father Zeus. Fans can safely predict that Hercules will be a major antagonist in Thor 5, though it is likely that the two mythological gods will join forces by the film’s end. Zeus, on the other hand, might be forced to look for a new champion, perhaps finding one in the God of War, Ares.
Hercules Solo Film
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a franchise of infinite possibilities for characters to whom general audiences wouldn’t have given a second thought previously. As such, characters like Hercules himself, who never picked up the traction of other major Marvel heroes, could very easily receive their own spinoff film or Disney+ series to truly flesh out their character.
Hercules may not be Marvel’s most prominent character, but there is certainly enough history to the hero to warrant his very own spinoff project. Whether in a solo film or a limited series, Hercules’s past, which is deeply rooted in the myths of the ancient Greek religion, is far too interesting not to explore in-depth. A solo outing for the “prince of power” would also provide the MCU a chance to introduce the other gods of the Olympian pantheon, including Athena, Posideon, Hades, and, most importantly, Ares, who is a major character in the comics, perhaps delving into the mythological origin of each deity in a way that the Thor and Eternals franchises never truly have.
