Chris Hemsworth is, without a doubt, one of the most ripped actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is playing a God, of course, so it's a necessity for him to get into the best shape possible.
In an interview with The Telegraph, the actor addressed his preparation for Thor: Love and Thunder, and explained that lockdown helped him get into peak physical condition for his MCU return.
"This is probably the fittest and strongest I've been before all the Thors," Hemsworth revealed. "Having this time at home meant I explored different methods, to see how I can manipulate my body with just the right amount of powerlifting and bodybuilding workouts."
"For years I probably overtrained," he said, reflecting on his previous MCU appearances. "People who do muscle-building often don't realize it's a sport that shouldn't be seven days a week, two hours a day. I was doing that in the previous Thors, and was coming up sorer, with less energy."
The site asked Hemsworth about the expectations that come with playing a character like Thor, and he explained why he feels those who transform their bodies to play a superhero don't get the credit they deserve.
"There's an aesthetic that the role requires. Bodybuilding is seen as vanity, whereas if I put on a bunch of unhealthy weight, or got unhealthily skinny for a role, I'd probably be called a serious actor," he pondered. "The training across 10 years of doing it is a full-time job. That and then a 12-hour shooting day - it's real grind. It's incredibly rewarding, too - you have to look at it like a professional athlete."
As you can see from Hemsworth's recent Instagram post, he does appear more muscular than ever!
Click on the "Next" button below to check out a list of the
confirmed (and rumoured) characters in Thor: Love and Thunder!
12. Gorr The God Butcher
When former Batman Christian Bale was cast in Thor: Love and Thunder, the internet quickly went crazy attempting to figure out who he might be playing.
Dario Agger/Minotaur seemed the most logical possibility, but Marvel Studios is making the stakes of this film quite a bit higher than that. Instead of battling Roxxon's villainous CEO, the God of Thunder will face Gorr the God Butcher, one of his deadliest, most formidable opponents.
Shooting on Thor: Love and Thunder is underway in Australia, but Bale has been sighed in LA.
It could be he's not needed at this point in production, or that Gorr will be voiceover role not dissimilar to Rocket. Whatever the case might be, this is a stellar piece of casting.
11. The Mighty Thor
Natalie Portman's MCU return was confirmed during Comic-Con in 2019, and at the same time, we learned that the actress will wield Mjolnir as the Mighty Thor.
Since then, the actress has strongly hinted that Jane Foster's cancer storyline will come into play in Thor: Love and Thunder, though we have no clue how she comes to wield Mjolnir. Steve Rogers returned the hammer to its rightful place in the timeline in Avengers: Endgame, so perhaps some Multiverse hijinks will ensue?
Portman has been training hard, and this hopefully isn't going to be a temporary transformation.
Of course, we're not banking on saying goodbye to the original God of Thunder, but if Chris Hemsworth is looking to hang up his hammer after this film, we're on board with Portman sticking around.
10. Thor
This might be a given, but Chris Hemsworth will, of course, return as Thor.
Set photos have confirmed the Asgardian is ditching his portly appearance, and the actor is looking bulkier and more ripped than ever before. He also has a new costume; that's heavily inspired by 1980s rock 'n' roll, and it seems Taika Waititi has even given the hero his classic boots from the comics.
Toothgnasher, Thor's goat, has also been spotted, so the filmmaker is clearly embracing lots of elements from Jason Aaron's Thor run in the upcoming sequel to Thor: Ragnarok.
When things kick off, however, the God of Thunder will still be be part of the Guardians of the Galaxy team.
9. Valkyrie
Valkyrie had a limited role in Avengers: Endgame, but looks set to take on a significant role in Thor: Love and Thunder. As the newly appointed King of Asgard, she will be on the hunt for her Queen in this film.
It's likely she'll also join Thor on his adventures, and that she too could be targeted by Gorr.
A team-up with the Mighty Thor has to be on the cards as well, and Valkyrie's place as a true fan-favorite should be cemented through the course of this blockbuster.
Embracing the character's sexuality in this way is an exciting, and bold move for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are many candidates for who Valkyrie will find romance with, and the next entry in our feature might be a prime candidate.
8. Sif
Sif has been missing in action since Thor: The Dark World's post-credits scene, so her long overdue return in Thor: Love and Thunder has generated quite a bit of excitement among fans.
When we last saw Sif, she was harbouring feelings for the Thunder God, and jealous of his relationship with Jane Foster. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then, and this character likely has a completely different role in New Asgard.
Romance with Valkyrie would be an interesting direction to take Sif in, and the Asgardian's feelings about her sexuality could be why she's been off finding herself.
Whatever the case might be, we're excited to see where Sif's story is heading next.
7. Guardians Of The Galaxy
Don't fret, we're not going to list each member of the Guardians individually!
Star-Lord, Nebula, and Kraglin have all been spotted on set, while Mantis and Drax are obviously also expected to appear. Rocket will be returning as well (Sean Gunn pulls double duty on the Guardians of the Galaxy films), but it looks like the team will play only a very minor role in the story.
One or two of them might stick around to help Thor battle Gorr, but if we were going to put money on it, we'd bet that they drop the God of Thunder off in New Asgard before heading off for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3!
Fingers crossed for another Thor/Rocket team-up.
6. Korg
Taika Waititi will reprise the role of Korg in Thor: Love and Thunder, and that guarantees we'll be treated to plenty of laughs in the Thor: Ragnarok sequel.
The filmmaker and actor has teased exploring where Korg comes from, a sign perhaps that we'll meet more Kronans (the only other one was decimated by the Odinson in Thor: The Dark World).
Waititi has also hinted that Korg found love in his past, but remains too hurt to find love again.
That means romance is off the table, but we're sure there are still some fun ways to deepen our ties to Korg in this film.
5. Miek
With Korg comes Miek.
In Avengers: Endgame's final battle, we learned that he'd created something of an exoskeleton to head into battle with, and concept art shared by Waititi has shown this adorable critter with a female form!
We're not sure if that means he's female or just identifies as a woman, but Miek could be a surprise sleeper hit in Thor: Love and Thunder, with a story arc much deeper than that in previous films.
You might also wish to bear in mind that the comic book Miek betrayed Hulk in the Planet Hulk storyline, so perhaps he's not to be trusted in the MCU either...
4. Beta Ray Bill
We've finally reached the "rumor" part of this feature, so let's kick things off with Beta Ray Bill.
His existence was teased/confirmed in Thor: Ragnarok, and Waititi has strongly hinted there might be a role for him to play here. Perhaps the MCU's version will be a former God defeated by Gorr who managed to survive that encounter (leaving him with no other choice than to enter The Grandmaster's arena).
We don't know who could play Bill, but he's likely to be a VFX creation.
Thor: Love and Thunder might tell his origin story too, because if there are more magic hammers out there, then Jane Foster might not be the only one who gets their hands on one!
3. Hela
Hela's story ended when Surtur destroyed Asgard, but who's to say she couldn't have survived?
If she did, it was probably only long enough to find herself face-to-face with Gorr before he becomes a God Butcher. In the comics, he stumbled across two dying God and took possession of All-Black the Necrosword. Imbued with the power to slay Gods, ge would eventually cross paths with Thor.
In the MCU, the Necrosword could be tied to Hela's powers, and her true end could come at Gorr's hands.
Taking all that into account, it's not hard to understand why Cate Blanchett is rumored to be making a return.
2. Enchantress
While Thor: Love and Thunder's lead villain will be Gorr the God Butcher, it's similarly been rumored that Enchantress is going to be joining him.
In the comics, she's obsessed with Thor, and often targets Jane Foster in order to ensure the God of Thunder remains hers and hers alone. Adding Enchantress to the mix would be fun, but we can't help but think it might be one character too many for an already very busy film.
Rumor has it Enchantress will actually debut in the Loki TV series coming to Disney+, so she could be used to tie the two stories together.
Talking of the God of Mischief...
1. Loki
Thanks to the events of Avengers: Endgame, Loki is alive and well...and still very much a villain.
To him, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War never happened, so he never had a redemption arc. We don't know what's to come from his team-up with the Time Variance Authority, but it would be surprising not to see Loki make at least a cameo appearance here.
So far, it's thought that Loki is the only Disney+ TV series getting a second season, and a reunion with Thor could nicely set the stage for that.
We'll see, but this surely can't be the first Thor film without the God of Mischief?