Thor Almost Lost Weight In 'Avengers: Endgame', But Chris Hemsworth Fought Against It

One of the most memorable elements of Avengers: Endgame was Chris Hemsworth's Thor transforming from ripped muscle-god into a Big Lebowski-esque chunky boy. The reveal is played for laughs at first, but Hemsworth's commitment to the role, coupled with the character's surprising emotional arc, work to sell it. According to Hemsworth, he was so committed to the idea of "Fat Thor" that he fought against the script's original plan to have the God of Thunder revert back to his usual chiseled self midway through the movie.

My favorite part of Avengers: Endgame had nothing to do with big action scenes or iconic team-ups. For me, the best part of the movie was Chris Hemsworth's Thor, who goes through a major emotional arc throughout the narrative. After feeling like a failure for not stopping Thanos, Thor lets himself go big time. He gains weight and spends his days pounding beers while trying to forget the past.

Hemsworth plays all of this perfectly, aided by some fat suit prosthetics that covered up his trademark rippling torso. Best of all, by the end of the movie, Thor is still hefty – he doesn't magically lose all the weight. But that almost happened.

In a new interview with Variety, Hemsworth reveals that the character was "supposed to revert to his old self in the middle of Endgame," but the actor fought to change that. "I enjoyed that version of Thor," Hemsworth says. "It was so different than any other way I played the character. And then it took on a life of its own."

Hemsworth also talks about the make-up work used to transform into Thor's new look, and how it aided with his overall performance:

"Physically, it was a good three hours in hair and makeup...Then the prosthetic suit, particularly for the shirt-off scene, that was a big silicone that weighed about 90 pounds. It was certainly exhausting. I had weights on my hands and ankles just to have my arms and legs swing differently when I shuffled along through the set."

I'm glad Hemsworth was smart enough to fight for this. Keeping Thor on the heavy side, even after he's dealt with much of his emotional trauma, just plays better in the long-run. I hope that if Thor pops up again in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as the ending of Endgame suggests, he's still in his Endgame form.