Marvel Makes a Bold Move: Chris Hemsworth Replaced as Thor

Chris Hemsworth officially doesn’t play Thor in the newest Marvel film.

After a rough few years for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, its latest film has delivered one of its strongest financial results to date. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) – which saw Ryan Reynolds make his MCU debut as Wade Wilson, plus Hugh Jackman return as Wolverine – has racked up an impressive $1.2 billion at the box office, making it the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.

Related: Anthony Hopkins Considers MCU Movies As “Pointless Acting”

It also makes it the seventh-highest-grossing entry in the MCU to date, not far behind the $1.3 billion earned by Black Panther (2018).

There are plenty of highlights of Deadpool & Wolverine, but one of the things that had the audience most hyped was its cameos. The film served as a sentimental send-off for 20th Century Fox’s X-Men universe and incorporated plenty of its characters as part of its farewell.

This included the likes of Dafne Keen as Laura/X-23,  Jennifer Garner as Elektra Natchios, Wesley Snipes as Eric Brooks/Blade, and Captain America actor Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch.

The film also introduced Channing Tatum as Remy LeBeau/Gambit, a role the actor was pegged to play for many years until The Walt Disney Company took over 20th Century Fox and canceled his planned film, which Tatum was also set to produce.

In terms of established MCU characters, the film was pretty short of cameos. While fans got to see Jon Favreau reprise the role of Happy Hogan, Tony Stark/Iron Man’s (Robert Downey Jr.) beloved head of security for a scene in which Wade is rejected from The Avengers, the only other appearance came from Chris Hemsworth’s Thor.

The actor’s appearance is brief, occurring in a scene where Deadpool arrives at the TVA (Time Variances Authority) headquarters and talks to Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfayden) about his quest to become the self-proclaimed “Marvel Jesus.”

Paradox reveals that Deadpool is destined to do something great in the future, with a scene quickly flashing up on a monitor that shows none other than Thor weeping over Deadpool’s seemingly dead body.

“Why is Thor crying?” Deadpool asks. The moment is referenced multiple times throughout the film, but we never get an answer to this question (and we wouldn’t be surprised if we never do unless Disney has a surprise Deadpool-Thor buddy comedy up its sleeve).

If the scene looked familiar to you, that’s because it was actually compiled with archival footage from Thor: The Dark World (2013), in which Thor mourns the death of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki (which, as you later learn in the film, was all an act from the God of Mischief).

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Chris Hemsworth didn’t actually reprise his role as the Norse god for Deadpool & Wolverine. As revealed in a behind-the-scenes image shared via Discussing Film, Ryan Reynolds is held by an unnamed actor clad in motion capture gear, which was presumably used to superimpose Chris Hemsworth from old Thor footage.

Behind the scenes of the “What was Thor crying?” sequence in ‘DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’

Behind the scenes of the “What was Thor crying?” sequence in ‘DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE’ pic.twitter.com/ejPOmfqOM4

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) August 28, 2024

Hemsworth has since responded to his cameo, which he apparently didn’t know about in advance. “I didn’t [know]. Am I in there? It’s really cool,” he said in an interview with ComicBook.

“You kind of forget, and be like, ‘Oh, cool! I’m part of the team. They’re talking about me, and I’m not in [the movie]. But, I mean, that whole world is really cool to be part of. I think what makes it all look really cool is the interconnected nature of it.”

While his latest outing as Thor Odinson – Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), in which Natalie Portman reprised the role of Jane Foster – wasn’t the best-received film in the world, fans still remain keen to see Hemsworth wield the hammer once again.

The actor has been open about why his last film didn’t meet expectations (in his own words, it was just “too silly”), he recently noted at San Diego Comic-Con that he has “loved every second of the Marvel experience” and is “always down to do more, but we’re all sort of waiting to hear what’s happening.”

Would you like to see Chris Hemsworth reprise the role of Thor?