Thor’s new look was among the more divisive elements of Avengers: Endgame, and as it turns out, even Chris Hemsworth’s children offered a mixed response to seeing the God of Thunder’s radical weight gain.
In an interview with ExtraTV, the actor recalled how “Fat Thor” came as quite a shock to the kids, who had some trouble adjusting to the change:
“They hated it,” Hemsworth said. “Not the movie. They really didn’t like me being like that. They’re like, ‘When does he change back? What’s he doing then?’ I say they hate, I think they just they were quite shocked.”
Nonetheless, as the film unfolded, Thor’s new look ultimately managed to win over Hemsworth’s children.
“Actually no, my daughter afterward was like — I said, ‘Which did you like better?’ and she’s like, ‘The fat one.’ And I sad, ‘Oh really?’ And she goes, ‘Yeah, it’s funny.’ But she didn’t think I’d want to hear that. I was like, ‘No, I like that version of him too.’ But initially, they were like, they didn’t really know what to do it with it. But afterwards they were like, ‘Oh, that’s kind of fun. It’s cool.’ I think they just wanted to see the hammer and the flying and all the cool stuff.”
Even when he looks like Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski, it seems that Thor is still a fine warrior capable of making a cinema full of Marvel fans cheer. That being said, the new design has also been the subject of a fair amount of backlash, with some viewers accusing the movie of fat-shaming.
Co-director Anthony Russo addressed the criticism earlier this year in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, arguing that “though there’s a lot of fun to be had in the movie with his physical condition, it’s not a gag.” The filmmaker went on to describe Thor’s appearance as “a manifestation of where he is on a character level,” before adding that weight gain is “a very common sort of response to depression and pain.”
Regardless, it could be a while before we see any version of Thor on the big screen again, with Hemsworth recently mentioning that he plans on taking a break from Hollywood. From the sound of things, the God of Thunder’s next cinematic outing just might be the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. And if so, then it’ll be interesting to see if Thor has lost his Avengers: Endgame weight, or learned to embrace his curvy figure.