As a third of Marvel’s Big Three, Thor is one of the most popular Avengers in the MCU. However, Chris Hemsworth has been open in the past that he hasn’t always felt satisfied with the work he was doing as the God of Thunder – with the universally-panned Thor: The Dark World serving as his least favorite experience in the franchise.
In a revealing interview with Variety touching on all areas of his career, Hemsworth opened up about why he was feeling “trapped” by playing Thor prior to 2017’s Ragnarok. The actor explained that he felt the filmmakers weren’t exploring the other sides of the character as much as they could be.
“After I’d done ‘Avengers’ and ‘Thor 2,’ I did feel a bit trapped. I felt like I was typecast by whoever was writing those scripts. I feel like the creators were stuck on where they could take the character, and was this all he had to offer? I felt there was so much more we could do.”
Thankfully, Hemsworth found someone on his wavelength in Taika Waititi, director of Ragnarok. In that acclaimed cosmic comedy movie, Thor was transformed into a charismatic gag machine that allowed Hemsworth to show off his comic timing and improv abilities. This new take on the hero was then followed through on in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
Variety also asked Waititi for his thoughts on Hemsworth’s comments. The director agreed that “stoic” Thor perhaps wasn’t the best way to go about the character, which is why he decided to shake him up.
“The character was always so stoic. I understand where they were coming from, because he’s so old. The idea was he’s seen everything and nothing fazes him. Unfortunately, that’s not a recipe for a great character.”
Fans are hoping that Hemsworth and Waititi will reunite for Thor 4, something that Valkyrie actress Tessa Thompson says is being discussed behind the scenes. Now that the character gives him a lot of freedom, the star has also said that he hopes to continue on as Thor for as long as Marvel will have him. Fingers crossed for a return in Phase 4 then, eh?