Thor Is Tired, Weary In “Avengers: Doomsday”

Chris Hemsworth is one of the elder statesmen of the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday,” the Australian actor having joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe a full fifteen years ago now in 2011’s “Thor”.

Out promoting “Crime 101,” the actor spoke with BroBible and reflected on his time as Thor – a character that launched him but he’s famously had ups and downs with.

He says the “role changed in every film” and called the first film’s director Kenneth Branagh “one of the best directors and most detailed, collaborative partners” and a “brilliant” experience. Then things shifted:

“Then I worked with different directors. Some had a clear handle on who they thought the character was, and some didn’t. Even to their own admission – I remember Joss Whedon saying it’s a tricky character to write, especially once he’s acquired that strength. It was really around working with Taika [Waititi] where I was kind of sick of what I’d been doing, and he was like, ‘Yeah, so am I. Let’s explore a different space.’”

Waititi brought “unpredictability” to Thor which worked to great effect with “Thor: Ragnarok,” but not so much with “Thor: Love and Thunder”. Explaining where things are now with his character, he says:

“In the more recent films since then, I felt like the character had earned his seat at the table. Before that, I felt like the new guy. I remember sitting around on Doomsday with all these new characters, people in their first Avengers film, and thinking, ‘I have a bit of agency here. I should have a bigger voice or opinion as the character.’

Owning that a little more, he does feel like one of the elders. He’s 2,000 years old or something, so we tried to play into that more than we had before. You reach a point in life where there’s an exhaustion and weariness, and we really leaned into that.”

Thor is expected to be a major character not in just “Avengers: Doomsday” but the “Avengers: Secret Wars” film (or films), all of which will be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo. “Avengers: Doomsday” opens in cinemas in December.