Staying true to the character’s comic book origin as a somewhat Shakespearean royal figure, Thor has earned a reputation as being a bit of an uptight figure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is partially because of his arrogance problem, but also just because he kind of has a lot of duties to attend to throughout the galaxy, and has little time for foolishness. This was true through the end of Thor: The Dark World, but, interestingly, this attitude is going to be getting a bit of a facelift in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Last summer, I had the pleasure of being a part of a small group that was invited to visit the set of the forthcoming mega-blockbuster, and it was while talking with Chris Hemsworth that we learned that Thor’s energy in the movie will be much more relaxed than we’re used to seeing it. Asked what the God of Thunder will be doing in the film that he’s never done before, the actor - dressed in full costume – explained that he has a much different approach to his character’s personality in the movie. Hemsworth said,
He’s loosened up a bit… There's more humor in Thor, or he at least because he's been on Earth, he's a little more accessible now. He's off Asgard now, so he doesn't have to be as regal and kingly as he is in that world - which is nice. I enjoy that more, you know? It's sort of a box, which he gets to step out of on Asgard.
When we last saw Thor in action, he very much put the world of Asgard behind him - traveling to Earth so that he could be with his love, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). For this he gave up the throne of the godly realm, and while that action certainly lifted a great burden off of the hero’s shoulders, he still doesn’t know the full consequences of his decision. As was revealed in the final shot of the film, Anthony Hopkins’ Odin has disappeared, and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is left as the only member of the royal family in Asgard. Once Thor learns about this, we can probably assume that he’ll return to his more uptight state.
Before the robots start attacking in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, however, Thor is living an easy-going, Earth-bound lifestyle free of responsibilities. This leads to a bit of a wardrobe change as well, and one day on set it actually sparked an on-going joke between the castmembers. As Hemsworth told it,
I walked on set, it's a party scene, and I was in a nice coat and jeans. And the guys just kept joking, ‘When did Thor go shopping? Did he buy this online or did Jane do it? Or did he actually go shopping?' And so you don't see him go shopping, but the question’s raised because he's not dressed in his own Asgardian attire. He's more human in the film, definitely.
One of the reporters in our group asked if we would see a scene where Thor and Jane Foster went to see a movie together, and while it was intended as a joke, Chris Hemsworth revealed that he actually pitched that idea to the creatives behind The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Sadly, they ultimately said no.
A more chilled out God of Thunder will be bringing lightning to a theater near you on May 1st, and be sure to stay tuned for more of our coverage from the Avengers: Age of Ultron set!
