Thor 4: Lady Sif’s Return Can Fix Ragnarok’s Biggest Mistake

Lady Sif is reportedly coming back in Thor: Love and Thunder, and her return can fix one of Thor: Ragnarok‘s biggest mistakes. After handing the reins of the Thor franchise over to Taika Waititi, the comedic director injected the God of Thunder’s third solo film with a brand new tone and visual style. Thor: Ragnarok was a runaway hit as a result, as it was nearly universally praised by critics and general audiences and made over $850 million. This led Marvel Studios to bring Waititi back for Thor: Love and Thunder.

While Thor: Ragnarok was a great new direction for the franchise to take, one of the movie’s biggest flaws for some Marvel Cinematic Universe viewers was how it treated what came before. Sequel setup from Thor: The Dark World was abandoned what seems like seconds into the film. But, the movie also unceremoniously killed off some of Thor’s main friends. Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun, collectively known as the Warrior’s Three, returned in the movie only to be killed by Hela right away. This idea could’ve worked to give Thor another reason to be at odds with Hela, but Thor: Ragnarok shockingly never acknowledges their deaths. Not only does Thor not take a moment to grieve, but the movie doesn’t even make it clear if he knows they died.

The decision to not give Thor a chance to emotionally react to these events is one example of how Thor: Ragnarok rarely shifts away from the comedy. This meant moments like the Warrior’s Three deaths ultimately had no impact on audiences or the characters. It would come as a surprise if the Warrior’s Three somehow returned in Thor: Love and Thunder, but thankfully there is another way for Waititi and Marvel to fix this. There are reports that Jaimie Alexander is coming back as Lady Sif for Thor 4 after missing out on Thor: Ragnarok. This gives Marvel and Waititi a chance to use Lady Sif to make their deaths matter.

Since Lady Sif was missing from Thor: Ragnarok, her return in Thor: Love and Thunder will have to explain where she’s been and why she’s just now returning to the story. Sif has been off Asgard all this time, so she has been completely disconnected from recent events. Her path presumably will cross with Thor’s again in the new movie. Sif will surely be happy to see her friend for the first time in years, but it would also be natural for her to wonder where the Warrior’s Three are. If she asks Thor for the location of their fellow warriors, then the two of them can share a moment of reflection and properly mourn their losses. Dealing with this potentially buried trauma could even help explain Thor moving on from his “Fat Thor” look.

Taika Waititi has shown the ability to balance comedy and more serious moments in past work like The Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Jojo Rabbit. After leaning completely into the superhero comedy tone in Thor: Ragnarok, it’d be nice to see him do the same in Thor: Love and Thunder. Giving Lady Sif and Thor some scenes to remember their fallen friends is one possible way to accomplish this. It might not totally make up for Thor: Ragnarok failing to address what should’ve been another major moment of loss for Thor, but at least Thor: Love and Thunder can give Thor the moment he should’ve already had. And since Sif is the only one still around who also knew the Warrior’s Three, it makes sense for her to be involved in any such scene.

About The Author

Cooper Hood
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Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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