Just before Avengers: Infinity War, many were pleased at the new life breathed into the Thor series when What We Do in the Shadows director Taika Waititi took on the undertaking of a big-budget franchise film. Thor: Ragnarok was a massive hit and it seemed like this new direction was a welcomed one for the God of Thunder. After Thor’s arc in the Infinity Saga seemingly concluded in Avengers: Endgame, it looked like some strange new adventures were on the horizon as he joined up with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Then, Thor: Love and Thunder would bring back Waititi and an impressive cast for what would ultimately have a less-than-stellar reception.
Chris Hemsworth’s future as the Asgardian is uncertain, but Variety reports that the Aussie actor, who will be playing the new big bad in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, recently gave an interview in Vanity Fair where he took the blame for Thor: Love and Thunder‘s divisive response. Hemsworth stated,
I got caught up in the improv and the wackiness, and I became a parody of myself. I didn’t stick the landing.”
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He admitted that perhaps his desire to loosen the character up came out of Thor being the more serious of the Avengers. Hemsworth would recall that despite being endlessly grateful for the role, he would be growing increasingly frustrated with the character during his run in the MCU, “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.”
However, Iron Man himself — Robert Downey Jr. — would stick up for what Hemsworth and the first film’s director, Kenneth Branagh, had accomplished with the mythological/comic book crossover character, “First off, Thor as a character was super tricky to adapt — lots of implied limitations — but he and Ken Branagh figured out how to transcend, make him somehow relatable but godlike. Hemsworth is, in my opinion, the most complex psyche out of all us Avengers. He’s got wit and gravitas, but also such restraint, fire and gentleness.”
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