Thor: Love and Thunder’s cast might be even bigger than we think. The Marvel sequel is set to feature a wide array of both returning MCU characters and new faces, including Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher and (possibly) Russell Crowe as Zeus. A questionable new leak suggests that the film could even feature the introduction of yet another notable character as well — someone who will very much not get along with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.
The Leak — Today’s Thor: Love and Thunder leak comes via 4chan, so it needs to be noted that this should be read with about as large of a grain of salt as you can muster. Here, let me serve it up for you:
grain of salt
This is as unverified as a Marvel leak can get, and therefore, should be treated with the utmost scrutiny. Now, with that out of the way…
The Love and Thunder leak claims that the Taika Waititi-directed film will feature a fight scene between Thor and Hercules, the Greek demi-god who has an extensive Marvel Comics history.
The fight will apparently be the result of both gods being “very childish about something,” and will be more comedic than dramatic. The alleged scene will also supposedly show Dave Bautista’s Drax betting on Hercules to win, while Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon bets on Thor.
Notably, the report does not mention who will be playing Hercules in the film.
Thor fighting Hercules on the cover of Thor Annual Vol 1 #5.Marvel Comics
Hercules vs. Thor — There have been rumors that Thor: Love and Thunder could introduce Hercules for quite some time now. However, Russell Crowe’s recent confirmation that he’ll be playing Hercules’ father, Zeus, in the film has only thrown those theories into overdrive. If Crowe is really playing Zeus, then it wouldn’t be surprising if Hercules and the rest of the Greek Gods were introduced in Thor: Love and Thunder, either.
The film’s use of Gorr the God Butcher — a character who literally spends his time killing gods across the multiverse — suggests that Love and Thunder could introduce non-Asgardian gods into the MCU for Gorr to combat (and possibly kill). And if Zeus really is in Thor: Love and Thunder, then there’s little reason to think Hercules won’t be far behind him.
As for whether or not Love and Thunder could feature a fight scene between Hercules and Thor, it’s entirely possible. The two gods have fought plenty of times in the comics — including once over the attention of Jane Foster — and their prideful personalities naturally lead to them butting heads. Assuming the MCU’s version of Hercules is similar to his comic book counterpart, it’s totally plausible to think he and Thor might end up fighting each other on-screen.
The 4chan post does also claim that Gorr the God Butcher will kill several noteworthy characters in Love and Thunder, including Russell Crowe’s Zeus and Jaimie Alexander’s Lady Sif. That puts it in line with another Love and Thunder rumor that started circulating online recently, but since that rumor also came from 4chan and is still unverified, the similarity doesn’t make this leak any more credible.
Herc himself.Marvel Comics
The Inverse Analysis — Looking at both the Marvel comics and films, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for Hercules to cross paths with Thor at some point in the MCU. Given everything we know about Thor: Love and Thunder too, it seems like it’d be in keeping with that film’s tone and story for it to do just that.
However, since this leak originated on 4chan, there’s no reason to believe this will actually happen in Thor: Love and Thunder. It’s a fun idea to think about, so long as it’s considered nothing more than generously salted speculation for the time being.
Thor: Love and Thunder will be released in theaters on May 6, 2022.
