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Posted in: Marvel Studios, Movies | Tagged: Marvel Studios, mcu, thor, thor: love and thunder
Chris Hemsworth Reflects on Reactions to Thor: Love and Thunder
Chris Hemsworth reflects on the polarizing reactions to the MCU film Thor: Love and Thunder, compared to the success of Thor: Ragnarok.
Article Summary
- Chris Hemsworth opens up about the mixed reactions to Thor: Love and Thunder's comedic approach
- Thor's shift from action hero to comedy under Taika Waititi won praise in Thor: Ragnarok
- Love and Thunder pushed Thor's goofier side further, leading to audience and critic backlash
- Thor is set to return in Avengers: Doomsday, moving away from the comedic tone of recent films
Thor has been in the Marvel mix from the early days, then grew into one of the franchise's most reliable anchors once the Avengers lineup fully formed. He has even carried multiple solo films, played key roles in team-up movies, and, with the current Phase Six runway, he is still positioned as a major piece of what comes next. That presence has also made the character's tonal swings more noticeable over time, because some approaches have clicked immediately, while others have landed with more friction. Chris Hemsworth is now looking back at one of the more divisive entries, and he is being pretty candid about why it split people.
Chris Hemsworth Says He Understands the Response to Thor: Love and Thunder
On a recent appearance on the SmartLess podcast, he talked about how Thor's comedy pivot in Thor: Ragnarok earned a lot of goodwill, then suggested Thor: Love and Thunder pushed that comedic edge further than it could safely go. "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 later adds, "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?'" He also said Taika Waititi and the cast were simply enjoying the process and "trying something different."
That reaction makes sense when you line the movies up next to each other. Thor: Ragnarok is still widely seen as the high point of Thor's reinvention, and Rotten Tomatoes currently has it at 93% with critics and 87% with audiences. Thor: Love and Thunder sits lower at 63% from critics and 76% from audiences, which matches the broader conversation around the film's goofy beats and its uneven balance between jokes and heavier material.
Plot-wise, Thor: Love and Thunder follows Thor trying to step away and find some peace until Gorr the God Butcher starts targeting gods, pulling him back into action alongside Valkyrie, Korg, and Jane Foster, who unexpectedly returns as the Mighty Thor. And Thor's next big screen stop is already on the calendar. He is confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday, which is currently dated for December 18, 2026, and marketing has already teased that the film will include the return of Love, his adopted daughter from Love and Thunder, played by Hemsworth's real-life daughter India Rose Hemsworth.
Though, based on what we've seen so far, it doesn't look like Thor's going to be relying on comedy this time around.
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