Does a Female Thor Mean Changes for Chris Hemsworth and 'The Avengers 3'?

Unless you've been hiding under Yggdrasill all day, chances are you heard about the major change happening to Marvel's favorite god of thunder. This morning on The View it was revealed there will now be a female Thor. Marvel had been teasing that guys should grow a pair and turn on the female-geared gab fest, and the announcement was definitely worth the wait. I don't want to go into too many details as to why this is happening, but it sounds as if Thor will be deemed unworthy of carrying the mighty hammer Mjolnir and it will turn to a woman who is worthy. The male version of Thor will still be around, but for the time being the Thor with an actual regular comic book series will be female.

Okay, let's be real; this is a stunt and not really that big of a deal. It could be cool if writer Jason Aaron comes up with a good story to explain the change, but in practice it won't amount to much and will probably be reversed in time for a third Thor movie because that's what Marvel always does. The Iron Man in the comics now closely resembles the one on screen, and the same can be said for Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, and Captain America. Or does the introduction of a female Thor mean something is up with Chris Hemsworth? Nikki Finke seems to think Hemsworth isn't so high on returning for anymore sequels, but I'll let her quote speak for itself...

"I think several factors are at work. First, rival Warner Bros/DC Comics plans to include Wonder Woman in its upcoming Justice League movie and then spin her off into her own franchise. Second, so-called women’s movies and women action heroes have taken off at the box office. Third, the first two Thor films starring Chris Hemsworth were always marketed to women. Fourth, I heard Hemsworth wasn’t anxious to go back into that arduous diet and training regimen and subsist primarily on egg whites for Thor 3 or The Avengers 3. Fifth, it’s doubtful that Marvel wanted to cough up the big bucks necessary to keep Hemsworth starring as the franchise title character so here’s a cheap way to reboot the series by changing the leading man into a leading woman."

Interestingly, Wonder Woman is one of the few non-Thor characters who has possessed the power of Mjolnir. Perhaps the basis for a DC vs. Marvel crossover movie? Eh, don't hold your breath.

Finke goes on to speculate it has something to do with Thor being an omnisexual or something but that's an angle too silly to be explored. So should we take any of this seriously? Is Marvel really thinking reboot? It does seem like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans are edging their way out of the franchise, so why not Hemsworth? He's still under contract for at least one more Thor film and has spoken about his eagerness to do more, so unless things have changed he seems to be in for the long haul...or at least through Avengers 3. Besides, those reasons Finke gave seem kind of silly. Doubtful Hemsworth would give up a lucrative gig like this just because he wants to go on a Haagen Dazs binge. It's far more believable that the notoriously stingy Marvel wouldn't want to pay him for a new contract. What was that Kevin Feige was saying about Iron Man being just like James Bond? Just have somebody else take on the role and keep going?

Thor 3 is being written now by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle, and should arrive in either 2016 or 2017. 

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Rumor: Marvel's Phase Three Includes Doctor Strange, but No 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Sequel

While there's still a good deal of Marvel's Phase Two left, plans are already underway for Phase Three. And that of course means the rumors are already flying around about which films will comprise the next blockbuster line-up. Release dates seem to be locked in place, and we know Ant-Man will be amongst them, with development on Captain America and Thor sequels having begun. But we've also heard promises of a Doctor Strange film and some early buzz about Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Will either of those films make the cut? A new rumor has emerged that claims to have the answer.

According to the guys at Schomes Know (judge accordingly), the "absolute certain" line-up for Phase Three is Ant-Man, Captain America 3, Thor 3, The Avengers 3, and Doctor Strange. Marvel President Kevin Feige has basically been confirming Doctor Strange for awhile, so that's not much of a surprise. But what about 'Guardians 2'? The site's source claims that Marvel always envisioned it as a "one and done", and that continues to be their mindset unless that has suddenly changed in the last couple of weeks. The recent rumors of a sequel would seem to suggest their opinion has changed, but none of this can be taken as gospel until we hear some confirmations. The source continues on by saying...

"They only have so many films they can do each year and they don’t want them all to be trilogies to where they’re just dealing with the same handful of characters for the next 5-10 years."

But that doesn't really make sense considering most of these franchises have been staggered. Iron Man is done; Captain America and Thor are on the verge of completing their trilogies, which would open up room for two more. And in regards to new franchises, Black Panther and Inhumans are still in the pipeline but still a ways off.

Other than the Guardians of the Galaxy bit, none of this is particularly special. They go on to say that an announcement will come at Comic-Con, which is pretty much a given, right?

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Writers Hired to Begin Work on 'Thor 3'

It was a little curious that Marvel was already moving forward on Captain America 3, bringing back directors Joe and Anthony Russo, without progressing on a third Thor film. But maybe they just wanted to give the announcements a little room to breathe, because just a day later comes word that Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost will be writing Thor 3.

Yost returns after co-writing the $670M-grossing Thor: The Dark World, joined by Kyle, Marvel's Senior VP of Production and Development. The two have worked together on numerous projects, including Marvel's revamped X-force comic and the New X-men series. Both have had their hands in the animation world, with Yost penning multiple episodes of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and Kyle writing X-men: Evolution.

No word on who will direct, but chances are Alan Taylor is out since he's busy on Terminator: Genesis. It's also unclear which of the Marvel mystery dates the film may land on: July 8th 2016, May 6th 2016, or July 8th 2017?

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Jaime Alexander Promises Third 'Thor' Film; Confirms 'Batman vs. Superman' Talks

Marvel's Thor: The Dark World opens in just under a week, and already analysts are projecting it to be do significantly better than the first film. Not surprising given the $1B+ haul of The Avengers and Iron Man 3, and we can probably expect to see bigger numbers for all Marvel films for awhile longer. The cast has been out and about making the press rounds (we should have an interview up in just a few days), and Jaimie Alexander, who promises to see an expanded role as Sif in the film, revealed some information that will have the rumor mill buzzing.

Alexander took part in Stan Lee's Comickaze Expo as part of the Movie Talk panel, where she basically confirmed what we already knew; there WILL be a third Thor movie. No shocker there. The bigger question is whether or not it will be the final Thor film.

Those who have seen Alexander as Sif know she's a definite bad ass, and it's fueled a lot of fan hopes that Warner Bros. would consider her for a future Wonder Woman movie.  She's definitely got the look and physicality for it, and when a recent casting sheet for Batman vs. Superman was calling for a tall, athletic, physically fit actress in her late 20s for a mystery role, it read like the search for Wonder Woman was on. The description basically describes Alexander to a tee.

While she didn't directly address playing Wonder Woman, Alexander revealed that she has had "conversations" with both Marvel and Warner Bros. about future superhero films, and that she "knows thing" about the Batman vs. Superman storyline. While we know that it's very loosely based on The Dark Knight Returns, the exact details would only be known to those who are in the film or are trying out for a major role.

Forbes caught up with her for a follow-up, and she was a little more measured in her words. Here's how they captured it...

Alexander laughed slyly, saying, “I would love for DC to put Wonder Woman in one of their upcoming flicks, either in her own movie or Batman vs. Superman, or just something even to introduce her.” Getting more to the point regarding her earlier comments, Alexander explained carefully, “Being in the comic book world, we know a lot of the same people at DC and Marvel, so we hear a lot of things, but it’s all speculation right now. But I would absolutely love that [Wonder Woman appearing in one of the upcoming films]. Thankfully and gratefully, I’m appreciative to the people who ask my opinion of the character, and that’s been pretty amazing.”

Alexander's a die hard comic book fan and she's spoken in the past about what her version of a Wonder Woman would look like. She told Screen Crush earlier this year....

Alexander: “If you’re going to make Wonder Woman, make it like The Bourne Supremacy. You know, let’s do something awesome like that. Alias was a fantastic show. Why can’t we do that? Why does she have to be in hot pants and spandex and all this stuff? And yeah, I get it, it’s visually stunning for…half of people. But at least make her grow a pair. All she does is eat ice cream while she’s crying over a boy. I know it never aired but that’s what the script said.”

So we'll see what happens, but it definitely looks like Alexander is a star on the rise. With Joss Whedon and Kevin Feige talking often about their desire for more female superhero movies, could we perhaps see a Sif spinoff or Marvel One-Shot? And if there's any doubt that Alexander doesn't have the look to play Wonder Woman for Warner Bros., just check out this fanmade photo, which the actress herself tweeted her approval of!

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