WhenChris Hemsworthwas the first announced member of the cast ofAvengers: Doomsdayviathe now-infamous director’s chair presentationfrom back in March, it seemingly pointed to the fact thatDoomsdaywould indeed be a real bona fide Avengers movie. On May 28,Hemsworth posted amysterious tribute videoto his time portraying the character of Thorin theMCU, going all the way back to the character’s 2011 introduction, leading to three moreThormovies, as well as appearing in all four priorAvengersmovies.

The video was accompanied by the heartfelt message:

“Playing Thor has been one of the greatest honors of my life. For the last 15 years I’ve held Mjolnir and then Stormbreaker as the God of Thunder, but what made it truly special… was sharing it with all of you. Your passion, your cheers, and your love for this character have meant everything to me.

Thank you for making my journey through the Marvel Cinematic Universe unforgettable.. Next up, Doomsday!”

Chris Hemsworth as Thor armed with Mjolnir and Stormbreaker to fight Thanos in the film Avengers: Endgame.

These two things led to many positing that maybe Hemsworth’s incarnation ofThor might not survive through the end ofAvengers: Doomsday,something that could happen for several significant reasons.

Robert Downey Jr.was already well-known when cast as Tony Stark forIron Man,but Australian actor Chris Hemsworth wasn’t quite on that same level. Both of Hemsworth’s MGM movies,Cabin in the WoodsandRed Dawn,hadn’t even been released yet, but clearly, Marvel Studios headKevin Feigesaw something in him. Hemsworth’s Thor was immediately a fan favorite, as his soloThormovie led to a significant role in 2012’sMarvel’s The Avengers.The rest, as they say, is history. Despite being a god from Asgard, Hemsworth’s portrayal of the character lent a lot more humor to every scene in which Thor appeared, making the thought of him dying quite distressing to diehard MCU fans.

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Thus far, there hasn’t been a singleAvengersmovie that did not include Hemsworth’s Thor. His character’s third solo movie, theTaika Waititi-directedThor: Ragnarok, firmly clinched his popularity, as we finally had a chance to see Thor fightMark Ruffalo’s Hulk.In that movie, Anthony Hopkins' Odin died, and he has yet to come back.

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Thor Has Died So Many Times in the Comics… but Never for Very Long

It might be hard to believe, but even Norse Gods can die when it comes to Marvel Comics, andthere have been quite a few times when Thor either outright diedor just disappeared and was replaced by another incarnation. Even though the Marvel movies never gave Thor his Dr. Donald Blake alter ego, that was the main iteration of the character in the comics for decades. When Thor “died” – usually as part of a big event like Ragnarok (the biggest!) – someone else would take his place. Has anyone reading this even heard of Eric Masterson, aka Thunderstrike? Others, like the alien Beta Ray Bill, were also on call whenever Thor would “die” in the comics, so Marvel has plenty of options if they were to go that route by killing Hemsworth’s Thor. EvenNatalie Portman’s Jane Foster held Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor, both in the comics and inThor: Love and Thunder,but is that even an option anymore?

It’s a well-known truth that no one stays dead for long in comics.Case in point: Bucky Barnes. As in the movies, his death played a major part in Captain America’s origin, which left the “First Avenger” frozen in ice for decades. In the comics, Bucky was dead for many decades before the introduction of the Winter Soldier. The first twoCaptain Americamovies were just three years apart, and that’s not quite as effective since most people knew thatSebastian Stanwould be back as soon asCaptain America: The Winter Soldierwas announced.

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A character might die in the MCU for other reasons, and it might be just that actors are ready to move on in their careers… after making bucket loads of money, mind you. Then again, both Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark andScarlet Johansson’s Black Widow died inAvengers: Endgame,then Black Widow returned for her own movie just a few years later (even though the events of that film were beforeEndgame). It’s already known thatDowney is also returning, but as Dr. Doom inAvengers: Doomsday. Thor has always played such an important part of the Avengers pantheon, butthere may be no better way of showing how powerful Downey’s Dr. Doom is than having him take out a veritable god.

We’ll have to wait a little longer to see if Hemsworth’s Thor dies inDoomsday,due to thefilm’s recent delay.If that happens, there’s little doubt that Hemsworth and the character will get a send-off befitting a god, since the character has played such a pivotal role in the MCU for nearly 15 years.Or maybe Thor will just be called back to rule Asgard without formally dying and going to Valhalla. There’s a very good chance Hemsworth’s initial contract has run out, and Marvel knows how much more he deserves to get paid to do even one more MCU movie afterDoomsday.

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Thoris available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.

The powerful but arrogant god Thor is cast out of Asgard to live amongst humans in Midgard (Earth), where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.