Chris Hemsworth has wrapped filming the book-to-screen adaptation of the novel Kockroach, and based on the message he shared, I’m officially more intrigued by this weird little crime movie than I already was. The Thor star posted a batch of black-and-white behind-the-scenes photos from the set, and the whole thing looks like someone fed the best noir and gangster movies into a blender and poured it straight into the film projector. (Believe me when I say that's all meant as a compliment.)
Hemsworth shared the wrap update on Instagram, calling Kockroach “quite possibly the most fun” he has had on a set. He also shouted out co-stars Taron Egerton and Zazie Beetz, director Matt Ross, and photographer Cristian Prieto, whose Widelux camera appears to be helping give the BTS photos a stretched, shadowy old-Hollywood look. The caption read:
That’s a wrap on our film Kockroach. Quite possibly the most fun I’ve had on a set. Amazing cast and crew and one hell of a wild script! Can’t wait for you to see it !!
Honestly, “one hell of a wild script” is exactly the kind of phrase that gets my attention, especially when the movie in question is called Kockroach. That title alone already sounds like it crawled out from under a seedy diner's booth, which is exactly the sort of crime vibes I love. This also sounds far different from Hemsworth's highly acclaimed crime thriller, Crime 101.
The photos Hemsworth shared, which you can see for yourself in the post below, add to that feeling. We see him and Egerton in period suits along with vintage cars, glowing theater marquees and smoky, black-and-white street scenes that look like they were stolen from the ghost of a crime paperback. One image even has the marquee for 12 Angry Men and Carnival Story in the background, which tells you the movie is leaning hard into its midcentury setting:
The movie is based on the 2007 novel of the same name by William Lashner, who wrote under the pen name Tyler Knox, and its premise is already wonderfully deranged. It flips Kafka’s The Metamorphosis inside out: instead of a man waking up as an insect, a cockroach wakes up in a New York City hotel room in the mid-1950s and realizes he has become human. From there, the newly human roach, who becomes known as Jerry Blatta, learns how to walk, dress himself, recognize himself in a mirror and fake his way through conversations before climbing from mob enforcer to mob boss and eventually into politics.
That is a beautifully nasty idea for a crime movie. It has the bones of a gangster rise-and-fall story, with the added wrinkle that the central character may literally think like a roach. Not metaphorically. For real. This guy is a cockroach. The idea of an actual insect in a human body clawing his way up the criminal ladder sounds like something pulled from the stranger corner of Men in Black, a franchise Hemsworth briefly joined. But this feels less like slick sci-fi comedy and more like something that belongs on a shelf beside the greatest Alfred Hitchcock thrillers.
In addition to bein gdirected by Matt Ross, who's best known for Captain Fantastic, Kockroach is written by Jonathan Ames. Production began in New South Wales earlier this year, with Adam Arkapaw serving as cinematographer. Along with Hemsworth, Egerton and Beetz, the project includes Alec Baldwin and Rachel Sennott, according to multiple trade reports. Brian Geraghty was also reported to have recently joined the ensemble.
For me, though, Hemsworth’s enthusiasm is the hook. He has done massive franchise filmmaking, brutal action, comedy and mythology with a hammer attached. So when he says Kockroach might be the most fun he’s had on set, I’m listening.
There’s no release date yet, so don't expect it on the 2026 movie schedule. Still, after those photos and that caption, Kockroach is officially on my radar.
Fans may have to wait a while before seeing Hemsworth play a cockroach trapped in a human body, but they won’t have to wait nearly as long for his return in an upcoming superhero movie. Thor’s next MCU outing is already official, with Avengers: Doomsday set to hit theaters Dec. 18, 2026.
