Chris Hemsworth Defends Comedic Thor in Love and Thunder Despite Backlash

• Primary Subject: Chris Hemsworth's serious return as Thor in Avengers: Doomsday
• Key Update: Chris Hemsworth has confirmed that Avengers: Doomsday will feature a "hard reset" for Thor, shifting away from the slapstick comedy of Love and Thunder toward a darker, more dramatic tone.
• Status: Confirmed
• Last Verified: February 18, 2026
• Quick Answer: Thor returns to his serious roots in Avengers: Doomsday (December 18, 2026), moving past the "silly" tone of his previous film for a high-stakes mission.

Of the Thor franchise, Love and Thunder was considered the worst of the God of Thunder's films, according to fans.

Despite the backlash received for "dumbing down" Thor since Ragnarok, the fourth flick grossed over $760 million worldwide, which is significantly higher than the first two Thor movies.

Since then, there's one thing Chris Hemsworth has learned while working for the MCU franchise.

Chris Hemsworth Gets Candid on a Learned Lesson After Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor: Love and Thunder was supposed to tell the story of Thor Odinson on a personal quest after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) seeks to eliminate all gods and poses as a greater threat, given his range and rage for battle. Thor teams up with King Valkyrie, Korg, and his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who could surprisingly wield Mjolnir as another version of the Mighty Thor.

Love and Thunder had a promising premise, but was heavily butchered by the excessively forced humor that more often than not overshadowed Jane's cancer storyline and made the characters look more shallow than worthy of screentime.

"When we made Ragnarok, it was quite a twist, with Taika's [film]. And it was so fun. There was a huge appreciation for the shift," Hemsworth noted while talking on the SmartLess podcast (via The Playlist), "And then [with] Love and Thunder, it was kind of like a Monty Python sketch, and we took the piss probably a little much, and then there was some backlash."

Credit: Marvel Studios

Despite the mixed reception, Love and Thunder grossed over $760 million worldwide (on a $250 million budget), which begs the question of whether the film truly failed.

"There was this real kind of, 'Why is he a goofball and why is it like this?'" Hemsworth added, "And [audiences] violently offended and we were like, 'Oh, we're just having fun or trying to try something different."

Previously, Hemsworth told Variety that Love and Thunder was essentially 'too silly' for its own good: "It's always hard being in the center of it and having any real perspective... I love the process; it's always a ride. But you just don't know how people are going to respond."

Avengers: Doomsday Has More Surprises in Store for the God of Thunder

With Avengers: Doomsday set to unfold another major war for the MCU, Thor is in for a hard reset after the slapstick comedy of his last appearance, which fans have witnessed from the switch-up of the comedic God of Thunder in Ragnarok, transitioning to Avengers: Infinity War in the past. This time, Love and Thunder Thor is taking a step back for what's to come in Doomsday.

Credit: Marvel Studios

Hemsworth shared that he is aware of how different Taika Waititi's direction is from filming with the Russos, describing that all the films had "quite a difference in tonal opinion."

He added, "I was talking to Kevin Feige about it, and he said it's cool because the audience expects dramatic turns with the character. And whatever we do next—we've got some ideas to do something pretty unique again and hopefully be [different]."

Meanwhile, Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to premiere on December 17, 2027.

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