Chris Hemsworth Wants A Radical Shift In Tone For A Potential Thor 5
Of all the major heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Hemworth's Thor may have had the bumpiest ride. His first two solo movies, "Thor" and "Thor: The Dark World," weren't nearly as memorable or well-received as the pre-Avengers films for Iron Man or Captain America. They weren't terrible, exactly, but they were just a little dull. The love interest Jane (Natalie Portman) wasn't particularly memorable, Loki wasn't yet developed as the beloved character he'd end up being, and the director went a little overboard with all the dutch angles.
But then "Thor: Ragnorak" came along and changed everything. It was funny, sharply written, and, most importantly, it was full of life. It was a movie that seemed happy to take full advantage of the world established throughout the past sixteen Marvel films. After the success of "Guardians of the Galaxy," Marvel seemed confident that audiences wouldn't be turned off by a movie that got too weird, that spent most of its time far away from Earth. It helped that almost every side character from the first two movies were unceremoniously dropped, a bold move that turned out for the best.
The shift in tone was not lost on Chris Hemsworth either: "You look at ['Thor'] and ['The Dark World'] they were quite similar. 'Ragnarok' and 'Love and Thunder' are similar. I think it's about reinventing it," he said in a recent interview. "I've had such a unique opportunity with 'Infinity War' and 'Endgame' to do very drastic things with the character. I enjoy that, I like keeping people on their toes."
Reinventing it again
The problem was that director Taika Waititi's comedy was a bit of slippery slope. By the time we got to "Endgame," Thor was almost entirely a joke character. Whereas Iron Man and Captain America got the juicy, dramatic material in that film, almost all of Thor's trauma from the past few movies was mined for cheap laughs at his expense. "Love and Thunder" was Thor's silliest movie yet, and this time critics were less amused. The humor in "Ragnorak" felt like a breath of fresh air; the humor in "Love and Thunder" gave off the impression that nobody involved in the film particularly cared about the movie they were making.
While Hemsworth isn't bashing his latest film or anything, he does agree that it's time for a breath of fresh air. "When it becomes too familiar, I think there's a risk in getting lazy then because I know what I'm doing," he explained. There are currently no details for a fifth Thor movie, and Hemsworth himself isn't 100% sure if he'd be coming back for it either way. "I think it would have to be a drastically different version in tone, everything, just for my own sanity."
The good news is that Marvel, for all its flaws, tends to be good at listening to audience feedback and adjusting accordingly. The studio realized the tone in "Thor" and its sequel didn't work, so the third one switched things up. Then, the MCU went too far in that direction with the fourth movie — so it wouldn't at all be surprising if the formula is adjusted again for the sequel. Hemsworth wants something drastically different for his next solo Thor film, and there's a good chance he'll get it.