Posted in: Marvel Studios, Movies | Tagged: film, HRL, kenneth branagh, thor

Kenneth Branagh Says The MCU Could Have Fallen Apart If Thor Failed

Published Sun, 12 Nov 2017 15:07:48 -0600

Kenneth Branagh has a new film in theaters this weekend with Murder on the Orient Express, which will be going up against a character that Branagh helped bring to the big screen: Thor. Branagh was the director behind the first Thor movie, and he recently spoke to UPROXX about whether or not he was going to see Thor: Ragnarok, as well as bringing the character to the big screen.

I am most certainly going to see Thor, and I do care about it, and I'm thrilled that they're making a third one and I love that director. … Remember, there were only two pictures in the Marvel Universe. Iron Man, genius, the first one. Hulk hadn't worked as they'd hoped. … And then number three, it was sink or swim before Captain America and then suddenly, oh, it was fine after that. We make Iron Man 2 and Avengers and everything's tickety-boo. But everybody who was there knows that that was an incredibly sweaty time.

Thor was only the third character they had brought to the big screen, and there was a certain pressure on not only Branagh, but Kevin Feige as well to make this work. Otherwise, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe could have fallen apart.

That's certainly how they felt. No question that Kevin Feige used to say to me, "This is the single most difficult tonal challenge for us, to make this movie work in itself and fit into this large universe." In fact, I think Thor, and in Chris Hemsworth's performance, becomes an absolutely integral part.

A lot has been said about Chris Hemsworth's great comedic timing in Thor: Ragnarok, but Branagh insists that Hemsworth has always been funny.

No, he was always, always funny. Always funny. But we also would definitely try to anchor some family drama in that first one, and you try to establish the mythology and the fish-out-of-water thing as well when he comes to Earth. So I think we laid out quite a lot of places from which the story could develop. And I'm personally really looking forward to what Taika's done with it. I'm very pleased that they're not just making the same movie each time. They're being ballsy.

Murder on the Orient Express and Thor: Ragnarok are in theaters now.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!