Currently, there are four Thor films starring Chris Hemsworth. This makes the Thor franchise in the MCU the one to have the most number of films with the same lead actor. All the films in this sub-franchise had a different reception. While the first film was largely liked, the second one was widely panned.
The most recent one- Thor: Love and Thunder was disliked as well. However, the third movie, Thor: Ragnarok, was unanimously loved and watched. There are multiple quotable lines from that film. The one where Hemsworth’s hero says- “He’s (Hulk) a friend from work,” is one of them. But that line wasn’t originally written in the script.
Chris Hemsworth Remembers The Sweet Origin Of A Line From Thor: Ragnarok
In the arena when Thor gets ready to fight, he sees Hulk barrelling at him and says “He’s a friend from work.” This dialogue was a hit with audiences. Also, the fact that Loki, who got brutally beaten by Hulk in the first Avengers film was in the stadium too makes this line much more funnier. However, this line wasn’t written in the script. Instead, it was suggested by a kid who came to visit the set.
In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Chris Hemsworth said:
“When we were filming Ragnarok, we had a young kid on set who was unwell at the time and had come to visit. We were shooting the scene with Hulk and Thor in the arena, and it was right when I was talking to Hulk, and I was saying ‘Oh my god, it’s you! Where have you been?’ He was on the sideline, he was like, ‘Why don’t you say, when you look up at Loki in the crowd, say ‘He’s a friend from work’?'”
The line went on to become iconic. It was frequently quoted as well as memed. It also works well in the movie because Taika Waititi wanted his film to stand out from any other Thor film that came before.
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How Taika Waititi Approached Thor: Ragnarok That Made It An Instant Classic?
Thor: Ragnarok’s tone was so different from the first two films that initially, it took people aback. After all, those movies took themselves seriously. Some will say that Thor: Dark World took itself way too unnecessarily seriously. So, director Taika Waititi wanted to break out of that mold and create something that felt unique and standalone.
In an interview with io9, the director said:
“To be honest what I did is I tried to approach it as I do no other films. This is a standalone film. I loved Thor 1 and Thor 2, but if I wanted to make this film my own I couldn’t try to make a follow-up movie. I couldn’t do a ‘next episode,’ I wanted to do my own thing.”
Waititi’s approach worked and the film grossed $855 million at the global box office. But he failed to hit the bullseye twice, and Love and Thunder got derision over everything from the annoying goats to Christian Bale’s poorly-written character. Will the director be able to course correct in the future? That remains to be seen.
The Thor films are available on Disney+.
