Filmmaker Taika Waititi put a comedic spin on the God of Thunder in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. However, over the next two years, the Russo Brothers took him down a far more serious route in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
When Waititi returned to the Asgardian's solo franchise, he delivered a full-blown comedy, Thor: Love and Thunder, with mixed results. Now, after complaints from fans and Chris Hemsworth himself, the Russos intend to give Thor another makeover in this December's Avengers: Doomsday.
In an interview with CBR, Joe Russo explained, "We love that sort of warrior version of him, that warrior who has lost everything, who is seeking meaning through battle. Will he ever find it or not?"
Teasing Thor's clash with Doctor Doom, the director added, "That is the journey he will go on against the greatest foe he's ever met. As you can see from the trailers, it's going to be a hell of a fight."
Joe went on to reflect on Hemsworth's Avengers: Endgame performance, where he portrayed "Fat Thor," a version of the hero who had let himself go—physically and mentally—after failing to stop Thanos from wiping out half the universe.
"Every iteration of Thor that he's done has been unique and challenging," Joe said, praising the actor for bringing "a lot of pathos and comedy" to the role. He continued, "But man, that Avengers: Endgame performance was certainly him, I think, at his most vulnerable, most off-balance."
"It's fascinating how malleable he is playing that role, and the range that he has. He has a wide array of directors with different tastes and different tones that have interpreted the character," the filmmaker explained. "We have a specific point of view on that character. That's what we're going to carry forward [into Avengers: Doomsday], the Infinity War Thor."
At the end of Avengers: Endgame. Thor travelled into the cosmos with the Guardians of the Galaxy, though James Gunn has made no secret of his lack of interest in including the Odinson in Vol. 3. So, in Thor: Love and Thunder, Thor and the team quickly parted ways.
Asked if that ending was meant to set the stage for a full-blown team-up, Anthony Russo said, "No, no, we just thought it was fun to do. We just thought it was a fun ending. We were like, 'Look, here's a really unique opportunity moving forward to mix these franchises together, if James wants to do that.'"
"We thought it was entertaining that they had formed a bond and a relationship, even though it was adversarial at times. It seemed like a fun mix of chemistry," he noted. "It was so far from where they started, so disastrously, with one another."
In Avengers: Doomsday, beloved heroes from three distinct universes will be set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered.
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron has also been enlisted to refine the story, alongside Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18.