For a lot of fans of Avengers: Infinity War last year (especially those like me whose jaw had to be picked up off the ground as Thor entered in the Battle of Wakanda), seeing the drastic change in the God of Thunder’s appearance in Avengers: Endgame was quite a surprise.
In the film’s first act, the surviving Avengers – with the addition of Captain Marvel – hunt down Thanos only to find out he has destroyed the Infinity Stones. Seeing little use for him, and certainly out of spite, Thor proceeds to kit the Mad Titan’s head clean off. Fast forward five dismal years, and we watch how each hero has responded to their failure. For Thor, it was a bunch of beer, a big belly, and some long, unkempt hair.
In a recent interview, the Russo Brothers described the interaction they had with Chris Hemsworth as they broke the news:
“Hemsworth is up for anything,” Joe said. “He like to take risks.”
“Before the script was ready, when we called him to pitch the character arc, he was either still finishing or had just finished Ragnarok,” Anthony added. “But he was so energised by the work he had done with Taika [Waititi] in that movie in terms of coming up with a comedic and irreverent Thor.”
Joe quipped: “And we were like, ‘wait until you hear what we’ve got for you.'”
The comedy in Thor: Ragnarok is what connected a lot of audience members to the godly character. It also gave them a look at how well Chris Hemsworth could throw a punchline, an ability he showcases throughout Endgame.
But though fat, depressed Thor may have been a shock to a lot of fans, as he goes from epic and ripped to looking like “the Dude” in a matter of minutes, the God of Thunder was back (with a few extra pounds) in fighting-form by the film’s epic conclusion. That fact makes the pitched, but deleted Thor vs. Thor scene all the more tempting.
As with everything in the MCU, we don’t know exactly what’s to come, but Thor and Hemsworth are set to return – it’s looking like he’ll be a part of the Guardians of the Galaxy crew. Whether or not he’ll hit the gym, however, is yet to be confirmed.