Thor movies ranked
Thor is one of the most recognizable and popular Marvel heroes. Played by Chris Hemsworth, Thor joined the MCU in Thor, which premiered in theaters in 2011. It was only the fourth movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and its success showed what was possible for the MCU to become.
So far, there have been four Thor movies. We shared the list of Thor movies in order:
- Thor (2011)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
But, which Thor movie is best? We ranked all four Thor movies from worst to best. If you haven’t seen all four Thor movies, you can turn back and go watch all four Thor movies on Disney Plus.
Let’s get the list started with, sadly, the worst Thor movie so far, Thor: The Dark World.
4. Thor: The Dark World
- Release Year: 2013
- Directed by Alan Taylor
- Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins
Thor: The Dark World is the second Thor movie. It was released in theaters two years after the first movie. During that time, that’s really when the MCU really started to fall into place. In between the first two Thor movies, we got Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, and Iron Man 3. That’s a great run!
Thor: The Dark World continued Thor’s journey after the first movie and picked up after the events of The Avengers. In the movie, an alignment of the Nine Realms opens up a portal on Earth where Thor’s lover, Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), is infected by the Aether, a magical weapon that’s basically an Infinity Stone, which we see later in Avengers: Infinity War. Thor and Loki work together to save Jane.
There’s a lot more going on in this movie that sets up future storylines in the MCU. After The Dark World, the MCU changed a bit, tonally, for the better in my opinion. Thor: The Dark World isn’t necessarily bad! It’s just my least favorite of the Thor movies, and I think a lot of people will agree with that.
Next up on the list of the best Thor movies is the one with the screaming goats!
3. Thor: Love and Thunder
- Release Year: 2022
- Directed by Taika Waititi
- Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Jaimie Alexander, Taika Waititi, Russell Crowe, and Natalie Portman
Thor: Love and Thunder is the fourth Thor movie so far. It was released in 2022 and continues Thor’s story after he joins the Guardians of the Galaxy following the events of Avengers: Endgame. In the film, Thor joins forces with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Dr. Jane Foster, who is battling cancer and is wielding a reconstructed Mjolnir, and Korg (Taika Waititi) to try to track down and defeat Gorr (Christian Bale) and the Necrosword from killing the Gods. Gorr has also kidnapped all of the children from New Asgard.
I loved Thor: Love and Thunder. It’s not quite as good as the other two Thor movies ahead of it on this list, but it’s fun, it has Screaming Goats, and Christian Bale is an incredible villain. I’m also a big fan of Waititi. There are some who believe they went a little too far with the and the movie didn’t reach the same level as Ragnarok, but it’s definitely worth a watch and rewatch.
There’s also just something about this cast. Hemsworth, Thompson, and Portman have excellent chemistry, and that makes the movie that much more enjoyable.
For the second-best Thor movie, we’re going back to where it all started for Thor and these unforgettable characters.
2. Thor
- Release Year: 2011
- Directed by Kenneth Branagh
- Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Colm Feore, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins
Thor premiered in theaters in 2011 and was a huge success for Marvel. The film introduces audiences to Thor, Loki, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), Dr, Jane Foster, Heimdall (Idris Elba), and more cast members who made serious impacts on the stories of the MCU leading up to and beyond the events of Avengers: Endgame.
It all begins with Thor about to become the ruler of Asgard in place of his father, Odin. Loki, who is always there to cause a bit of chaos, starts a war between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. Thor is banished to Earth by his father for not taking better care of the situation, and there, he tries to find Mjolnir, which has been taken by SHIELD, and then, he must return in time to save Asgard.
Looking back, it’s pretty incredible how well this movie holds up and how much it meant to the MCU as a whole. Along with Iron Man, this is truly how it all started. It’s even crazier how the hype train has stayed on the tracks for 11 years up to Thor: Love and Thunder when Hemsworth and Portman reunited in these roles.
It’s hard to argue that Thor isn’t the best of the bunch, but I think one movie tops it. I’m pretty sure what we have as our top pick is almost everyone’s favorite Thor movie!
1. Thor: Ragnarok
- Release Year: 2017
- Directed by Taika Waititi
- Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins
There’s no doubt Ragnarok is the best Thor movie. While I love the original Thor movie and it was such a great introduction to Chris Hemsworth, who absolutely crushes in this role, Thor: Ragnarok was such a breath of fresh air for this franchise and the MCU, as a whole.
Tonally, it shifted from the extra serious Thor: The Dark World and made Thor fun again. Taika Waititi did an incredible job with this story. The film also features one of the best MCU villains to date, Hela, played by Cate Blanchett. It’s such a shame Blanchett only stuck around for one movie. It would have been great to see a multi-movie arc with Hela.
In the film, Thor’s father, Odin, leaves Asgaard and dies, which opens up the return of Hela, Odin’s daughter, who has been imprisoned by her father for countless years. She’s super powerful, much more so than Thor and Loki. When Hela knocks Loki and Thor off the Bifröst Bridge and into space, she returns to Asgaard to rule. Thor and Loki must return to Asgaard, defeat Hela, and save their people. They get a little help along the way from Hulk, Valkyrie, and others.
Did Marvel go a little too silly after Ragnarok? I think that could be argued, but that doesn’t take away from how great of a movie Ragnarok is. It’s definitely one of my favorite Marvel movies.