Chris Hemsworth reportedly believes he owes Marvel fans another go after the disastrous Thor: Love and Thunder, which he admitted “didn’t stick the landing” and saw him become “a parody of myself.”
Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Marvel Studios’ THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
In an interview with Vanity Fair to promote his upcoming Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga movie, writer Karen Valby shared, “[Hemsworth] also thinks he owes the audience another Thor after what felt like a whiff with Thor: Love and Thunder. He wants to let himself take his craft more seriously. But he doesn’t want to be ‘an overly self-important, pretentious wanker.’
To that point, Hemsworth took issue with the most recent Thor film and how he felt on set, “Sometimes I felt like a security guard for the team. I would read everyone else’s lines, and go, Oh, they got way cooler stuff. They’re having more fun. What’s my character doing? It was always about, ‘You’ve got the wig on. You’ve got the muscles. You’ve got the costume. Where’s the lighting?’ Yeah, I’m part of this big thing, but I’m probably pretty replaceable.”
He later added, “I got caught up in the improv and the wackiness, and I became a parody of myself. I didn’t stick the landing.”
(L-R): Natalie Portman as Mighty Thor and Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Marvel Studios’ THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
These comments reiterate what Hemsowrth has said in the past about the film. He told GQ in June of last year, “I think we just had too much fun. It just became too silly.”
Hemsworth added, “It’s always hard being in the centre of it and having any real perspective… I love the process, it’s always a ride. But you just don’t know how people are going to respond.”
(L-R): Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Dave Bautista as Drax, and Chris Pratt as Star-Lord/Peter Quill in Marvel Studios’ THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
To that point he shared, “I love the fact that I’ve been able to do something fairly different throughout the process. Thor 1 and 2 were their own thing, Thor 3 and 4 were a very different feel… and then even Avengers, the Lebowski Thor, the Infinity War Thor, due to different directors and I think mostly my own need to do something different. You know, I got sick of the character pretty quick every couple of years.”
However, he noted if he was to return it needs to be different than Love and Thunder, “If I was going to do something again it would have to be tonally different. And we’d have to do something very drastic to keep people on their toes. Otherwise it’s just the fatigue of those characters and those films, where people are like, ‘I’ve seen it.’”
(L-R): Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Natalie Portman as The Mighty Thor in Marvel Studios’ THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
While discussing Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania with GQ’s Hannah-Rose Yee, Hemsworth detailed what he believes is needed for success with Thor and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “That’s the trick: you have to separate all those stories. The moment it’s like: ‘Your world is in danger, the entire universe!’ It’s like, ‘Yeah, so [it] was the last 24 films.’ It has to become a bit more personal and grounded.”
He then repeated he’d be open to returning to the role and “seeing what they have to offer creatively, if there is something new.” However, he added, “But I really wanna do some other stuff for a while.”
Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Marvel Studios’ THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
In a previous interview with Vanity Fair done in November 2022, Hemsworth indicated he was no longer interested in working with director Taika Waititi.
Hemsworth said, “I’m just at the point of my life where I’m meeting with different directors and [people say] ‘Oh yeah, look, he’s a mad genius. He’s mad, but he’s a genius and he’ll make great films.’ I’m like, ‘Is that who I want to spend my days with?’ Four months, five months of shooting and then you’ve got press and possible reshoots and so on.
Chris Hemsworth as Warlord Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures
He contrasted this with George Miller, “Now, if something’s going to pull me away from my family and my kids, it’s got to be a positive, constructive, collaborative experience. I shot with George Miller on the new prequel to Fury Road, part of the Mad Max saga, and I said to my agent said, ‘That’s where I want to spend my work hours; with someone who is kind and collaborative and interesting.’”
Hemsworth elaborated, “And a genius—but not the mad type. One that is very aware of how his energy affects others, and how he has the power to make your day fantastic or shitty, and chooses for it to be a positive experience. The whole crew, everyone is in a better mood. It baffles me that some people in that position don’t understand that.”
Chris Hemsworth as Warlord Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), Warner Bros. Pictures
What do you make of Hemsworth’s outspoken criticism of Thor: Love and Thunder?
