Chris Hemsworth Admits THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER “Took the Piss Probably a Little Too Much”
When Thor: Love and Thunder hit theaters, fans were split right down the middle. Some loved the absurd humor. Others thought Marvel pushed the joke a bit too far.
Now, Chris Hemsworth himself is looking back at the film and admitting that maybe, just maybe, they cranked the silliness up a little too high.
During an appearance on the Smartless podcast with Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes, Hemsworth opened up about the tonal swing between Thor: Ragnarok and its follow-up. He explained that after the huge response to Ragnarok, the creative team leaned even harder into the comedy for Love and Thunder.
"There's variations. But you do have to be careful because when we made Ragnarok, it was quite a twist, you know, and in Taika's tone. And it was so fun and there was a huge kind of like appreciation for the shift," Hemsworth said.
"Then Love and Thunder was kind of like a Monty Python sketch and we sort of took the piss probably a little much and then there was some of that backlash, you know? There was the sort of real kind of, 'why is he a goofball and why is it this?'"
That Monty Python comparison feels pretty accurate. Thor: Love and Thunder doubled down on the irreverence that director Taika Waititi brought to Ragnarok, but it didn’t land the same way for everyone. The movie currently sits at 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, a noticeable drop from Ragnarok’s impressive 93%.
Hemsworth didn’t see it as a mistake, though. For him, it was about creative experimentation. He explained that Waititi and the cast were just "having fun" and "trying something different."
In the film. Hemsworth’s Thor found himself on a cosmic soul-searching mission while dealing with the return of Jane Foster, played by Natalie Portman, who shocked everyone by wielding Mjolnir as the Mighty Thor. Add in Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher, Tessa Thompson as King Valkyrie, Russell Crowe as Zeus, and Chris Pratt as Peter Quill.
For some fans, the big swing connected. For others, like myself, the goofball energy undercut the emotional stakes. It’s interesting to hear Hemsworth acknowledge the backlash without getting defensive about it. He seems fully aware that tone in superhero movies is a delicate balancing act.
The good news for Marvel fans is that Thor isn’t done yet. Hemsworth is set to return in Avengers: Doomsday, which hits theaters December 18, and he won’t be alone. His real-life daughter, India Rose, will reprise her role as Love, Thor’s adopted daughter introduced at the end of Love and Thunder.
It’ll be interesting to see where Marvel takes Thor next. We do know Avengers: Doomsday will give him a more grounded and serious arc.
Hemsworth seems game to keep evolving the character. He’s swung the hammer through Shakespearean drama, space opera chaos, and full-blown comedy.
And if nothing else, at least he’s honest about when they might’ve gone a little too far.