The marketing campaign for “Avengers: Doomsday” continued with a Thor-centric teaser, much to the delight of many Marvel fans, in stark contrast to the divisive and silly “Thor: Love and Thunder,” 2022’s high-profile film that marked Chris Hemsworth’s final appearance as the God of Thunder. The teary-eyed Thor seen in Doomsday’s teaser praying before battle is a far cry from the wise, self-paced Thor of the MCU.
“Father, I have answered every call in my life: honor, duty, war. Now, fate has given me what I never asked for: a child, a life free from the storms,” Thor says in a super-serious tone in the “Doomsday” theater. “Give me the strength of my old fathers to fight once more, to defeat one more enemy, and to return to her. Not as a warrior, but as warmth, not as a battle, but as teaching her the serenity that I have never known. Please, Father, hear my words.”
Giving Thor his own sombre “Doomsday” teaser sends a clear message to Marvel fans that the superhero is changing tone for his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Love and Thunder was a $760 million worldwide hit in the summer of 2022, but it also polarized fans by pushing Thor to the edge of stupidity. Even Hemsworth criticized the film, admitting in a 2023 GQ profile that Love and Thunder was “so stupid” in its own right.
Hemsworth said of the film, “I think we had too much fun with it. It got too ridiculous.” “It’s always hard to be in the center of it and have a real perspective…I love the process. It’s always a ride. But you never know how people are going to react.”
Hemsworth said his son’s friends are his biggest critics. “Eight-year-olds are critiquing my movies, saying, ‘I thought there was too much humor in this movie. The action was cool, but the VFX wasn’t that great,'” he said. “I cringe and laugh at that at the same time.”
A year later, the actor doubled down in Vanity Fair’s May 2024 issue, saying, “I got caught up in the improvisation and whimsy and ended up becoming a parody of myself. I failed to land the ball.”
Hemsworth added that he became frustrated with the character while playing him in four solo Marvel movies and an additional “Avengers” movie, explaining, “Sometimes I felt like the security guard on the team. I read everyone else’s lines and thought, ‘Oh, they’ve got cooler stuff. They’re having more fun. What is my character doing?'” People always said, “You’re wearing a wig.” You’ve got some muscles. The costumes are ready. Where is the lighting? Yeah, I’m part of this big thing too, but I’m probably pretty fungible. ”
Despite his self-criticism, Hemsworth has always made it clear that he wanted to give Thor another chance, and after the failure of Love and Thunder, he wanted to give fans the God of Thunder they deserved. He also told Entertainment Weekly in 2023 that the next Thor movie needed to be “unpredictable.”
“I don’t want to do it until people roll their eyes in exhaustion when they see me on screen as that character,” Hemsworth said, adding, “If the audience wants to see it and it’s something that we believe is exciting and fun, then that’s great. I’ve been able to recreate that character a few times and loved it. I don’t have an answer yet, but I’d love to try and see how I can do it again and keep it a little less predictable.” ”
“Avengers: Doomsday” will be released in theaters on December 18, 2026. Watch the teaser for Thor in the video below.
