In the recent Avengers: Endgame, Thor sported a radical new look that was a far cry from Chris Hemsworth’s typically ripped appearance. According to co-directors Anthony and Joe Russo, the God of Thunder’s latest design was intended as a reflection of his grief and guilt, following on from his failure to prevent the snap. And going by recent comments from Industrial Light and Magic VFX supervisor Russell Earl, the character’s Big Lebowski-style makeover was very much a group effort.
Speaking to ComicBook.com, Earl recalled how Legacy Effects provided the prosthetic, before his own team made a few final adjustments:
“That was a great prosthetic. He was wearing a prosthetic that I believe Legacy did for his suit. There was a big scene down the back that we cleaned up and then we just cleaned it up in places where it didn’t quite bend right at the elbows and shoulders.
“Under the arms, yeah. I think we ended up adding a little bit of hair here and there. I know, it was a great prosthetic, it just required some cleaning up. I think we added some jiggle in a couple of spots too.”
Thor’s new look has been the subject of some controversy, with the film drawing accusations of fat-shaming. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Anthony Russo defended the development, arguing that “though there’s a lot of fun to be had in the movie with his physical condition, it’s not a gag.” The co-director went on to say that Thor’s appearance is “a manifestation of where he is on a character level,” before adding that weight gain is “a very common sort of response to depression and pain.”
Either way, the new Thor design is quickly becoming a popular costume at comic cons, and it’ll be interesting to see if Hemsworth maintains this look in his next MCU outing. If the final minutes of Avengers: Endgame are anything to go by, then we can expect the God of Thunder to make a return in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, but in the meantime, Marvel’s Phase 3 will come to a close with the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 2nd.
