Will 'Thor 4' introduce this classic comic character to the MCU?

If you’ve only followed the MCU and not the actual Thor comics, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Beta Ray Bill. But he’s a major fan favourite in the books, and it looks like he could be coming to the MCU.

For those completely new to Beta Ray Bill, the character basically looks like a monster, and seems to be a villain, until he’s eventually revealed as a great hero. So much so that he’s worthy to wield Thor's hammer, Mjolnir.

After clashing for possession of the weapon, Bill is given Stormbreaker, which has obviously already been established in the MCU.

While the whole ‘who can wield the hammer’ thing can’t possibly be done as well as it was in Endgame, there’s still plenty of potential for the character.

Read more: Taika Waititi’s 'Thor 4' has been pitched says Tessa Thompson

Thor: Ragnarok almost featured Bill, but he was cut at the last minute. Though with Taika Waititi returning for Thor 4, it looks like an appearance could be on the cards.

“There was a Beta Ray Bill, but it was so quick that you would have the same complaints that you have now,” Feige said during the Ragnarok press tour. “He was in it a little bit more and it just didn’t do justice. And the feeling is, if you can’t do it justice, do it later.”

Later is almost upon us, with Thor 4 almost certainly arriving in 2021 (Akira was cancelled so Waititi could take on Thor 4 first), so could Beta Ray Bill be the new Loki - aka an antagonist turned protagonist?

Read more: Hilarious video of 'Fat Thor' performing Johnny Cash

Of course, going by the events of Endgame, we could be looking at a completely different Thor - with Tessa Thompson taking the hammer.

We first speculated this could be the case way back in April, when Thompson first revealed that Waititi would come back.

“I heard that a pitch has happened for [another ‘Thor’ film],” Tessa Thompson told the LA Times. “I don’t know how real that intel is, but I hear that the pitch has happened. I think the idea is Taika would come back.”

Now, with the ending of Endgame seeming to confirm our theory that the future of Thor could be female, perhaps Beta Ray Bill could be gender-switched to Beta Ray Belinda? Time will tell...