While in most instances, the third entry in a franchise often falls short of the standard set by its predecessors, fortunately, this wasn’t the case for Chris Hemsworth’s Thor: Ragnarok. Often considered one of the best pre-Infinity War MCU releases, the Taika Waiiti-led movie was radically different than the two that preceded it, which wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for Hemsworth.
Although Hemsworth already transitioned into stardom by the time the threequel was greenlit, the first two Thor movies did little to cement himself as one of the MCU favorites he’d go on to become. And with some healthy bashing from director Kevin Smith, which helped things put into perspective for the Aussie bloke, he was adamant about breaking the image set up by Thor: The Dark World.
Playing Thor Was Getting Too Boring
While getting rid of the traits that defined the character, including his hammer and hair, alongside adding humor, was a risky choice, it eventually worked out in Thor: Ragnarok‘s case. These major changes in the character were pushed by Chris Hemsworth, who expressed that he was “frustrated and bored” of playing the same hammer-swinging Norse god every time he donned the cape. Per Vanity Fair, he recalled,
“I feel like I’m dying here. I feel like I have handcuffs on. It has to be funnier; it has to be unpredictable. Tonally, we’ve just got to wipe the table again.”
But it appears not only Hemsworth, renowned filmmaker Kevin Smith also played a crucial part in revamping the character.
Kevin Smith’s Bashing Helped Revamp Chris Hemsworth’s Thor
Known for being extremely passionate about comic books, Kevin Smith didn’t go easy on the Thor franchise prior to Ragnarok in his podcast, which ended up playing a vital part in Thor’s overhaul. Reflecting on the Dogma creator’s bashing, the Extraction Star explained that it pushed him to take the risk of cleaning the slate and start rebuilding Thor from the ground up. Hemsworth said,
“Hearing someone like Smith, who represents the fanboy world, was such a kick in the ass to change gears. We sort of had nothing to lose. People didn’t expect what we did with it this time around.”
With Chris Hemsworth determined to turn things around along with Taika Waititi onboard, Thor: Ragnarok would result in a huge critical and commercial hit. And while the actor would witness the highest of the highs with Ragnarok and the next two Avengers movies, things backfired with Thor: Love and Thunder. But although it’s unclear whether Hemsworth would return for another standalone Thor movie or not, the character would need another overhaul to get back to the top.
Thor: Ragnarok is available to stream on Disney Plus.
