Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a fascinating place right now, currently riding high on success and tons of money at the box office. Avengers: Endgame was recently re-released, inching close to beating out Avatar's record as the #1 movie of all time. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Far From Home hit theaters over the holiday weekend, continuing the story after Thanos' assault on the galaxy.
Avengers: Endgame changed the MCU forever, and plenty of characters faced major changes and/or death. Chris Hemsworth's Thor made it out of the movie alive, but he was drastically changed during the five year time jump. The God of Thunder was in a deep depression after killing Thanos, having gained quite a bit of weight due to his dependency on alcohol. Hemsworth had to wear a prosthetic suit in order to bring Bro Thor to life, and the 35 year-old actor recently revealed that it gave him a better understanding of his wife's experience during pregnancy. In his words:
A very strange day at work, yeah. It weighed around 40kg so it was very heavy. It’s a silicon sort of prosthetic suit with a zip at the back, and at any moment people would come up and rub my stomach. I know how my wife feels now when she was pregnant!
Chris Hemsworth has had three kids with his wife actress/model Elsa Pataky, although playing Bro Thor in Avengers: Endgame helped him to better understand the type of struggles a pregnant woman deals with. This includes carrying the weight of a child, as well as unwanted touching of his stomach. Talk about a role reversal.
The prosthetic suit Chris Hemsworth had to wear for Thor's scenes in New Asgard helped to really sell the character's physical transformation. But it also weighed a ton of weight. 40kg comes out to around 88 lbs, so Hemsworth no doubt had to use the physical condition of his actual body in order to make it work. And while lugging around the suit on set, he also apparently dealt with people clamoring to touch the Avengers' beer belly.
Related: Kevin Smith Thanked Chris Hemsworth For Thor’s Endgame Appearance
Having seen his wife pregnant with their three kids, Chris Hemsworth is no doubt empathetic towards the struggles that come with the miracle of life. But it turns out that his experience as the God of Thunder helped him gain further understanding of what the day to day experience is truly like.
In his same conversation with The Daily Telegraph, Chris Hemsworth went on to explain the lengths he went to transform his physicality for the new Thor. And it seems like his performance might have been better for it. As he put it:
I had weights in my wrist and my ankles to make me move differently, but I enjoyed the transformation and freedom to do whatever I wanted with the character.
Now that is some dedication. While the prosthetic suit already changed the way Chris Hemsworth moved, he also weighed down his arms and legs in order to help him learn the character's new physicality. And it all worked out, as Thor's new body is one of the most popular aspects of Avengers: Endgame. Although there are some critics who believes the cracks at his weight gain were an instance of fat shaming in the media.
It should be interesting to see what comes next for Thor. The character kept the same body composition throughout Endgame's runtime-- a narrative choice strongly encouraged by Chris Hemsworth himself. And since he made out of the movie alive, he could potentially join the Guardians of the Galaxy or have another solo movie. For now, it seems like anything could happen in the future.
Chris Hemsworth seemingly finished up his contact with Marvel Studios with Avengers: Endgame, marking his whopping seventh appearance as the character (not counting his brief appearance in Doctor Strange). As such, there's no guarantee that he'll return to play the OG Avenger again in the future. Although since he's completed his legal obligation, the Australian actor could negotiate for a serious payday if he decided to do another movie within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Then again, Thor was left noticeably alive following the Avengers' second war against Thanos. While Iron Man and Black Widow died and Captain America became an old man, The God of Thunder was unscathed. He left New Asgard to Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, and hitched a ride aboard The Benatar with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently a complete mystery, so it's unclear if/when Thor might eventually pop back up on the big screen. Avengers: Endgame's conclusion certainly hinted at Chris Hemsworth's character joining the Guardians, even branding them the Asgardians of the Galaxy. It's a possibility that the actor has expressed interest in, although he also said he wanted to take a break from acting to spend time time with his family.
Marvel fans would also love to see Thor get a fourth solo movie, breaking new ground for the MCU in the process. Taika Waititi's Ragnarok allowed the character to reach new comedic heights, and is by far the most popular entry in that franchise. If Taika Waititi decided to return for Thor 4, it might be the incentive for Chris Hemsworth to return for one last solo flick.
While Chris Hemsworth's future in the MCU remains a mystery for the time being, Chris Hemsworth does continue to benefit from his tenure in the behemoth property. In addition to the record breaking amount of money Avengers: Endgame is still making in theaters, Hemsworth's time as Thor has helped his star power grow considerably. In fact, he was even competing against himself once Men In Black International arrived in theaters. What's more, wearing Thor's prosthetic suit in Endgame allowed him to understand how his wife might have felt when she was pregnant with their three children.
Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now, recently re-released. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
