Thor Goes Serious in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ After Chris Hemsworth Criticized the Superhero Becoming ‘Too Silly’ in the MCU: ‘I Became a Parody of Myself’

The “Avengers: Doomsday” marketing campaign continued with a Thor-centric teaser that delighted many Marvel fans by standing in stark contrast to the divisively silly “Thor: Love and Thunder,” the 2022 tentpole that marked Chris Hemsworth‘s last outing as the God of Thunder. The teary-eyed Thor who appears in the “Doomsday” teaser praying before battle is miles away from the wise-cracking goofball Thor became in the MCU.

“Father, all my life I’ve answered every call, to honor, duty, to war. Now fate has given me something I never sought. A child, a life untouched by the storm,” Thor says in the “Doomsday” theater in an ultra-serious tone. “Grant me the strength of the old fathers, so that I may fight once more, defeat one more enemy, and return home to her. Not as a warrior, but as warmth, to teach her not battle, but stillness, the kind I never knew. Please father heed my word.”

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Giving Thor his own brooding “Doomsday” teaser sends a clear message to Marvel fans that the superhero is changing tone for his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While “Love and Thunder” earned a robust $760 million worldwide in summer 2022, it polarized fans by pushing Thor to the limit of silliness. Even Hemsworth criticized the movie, admitting in a 2023 GQ magazine profile that “Love and Thunder” was “too silly” for its own good.

“I think we just had too much fun. It just became too silly,” Hemsworth said about the movie. “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.”

Hemsworth said his biggest critics were his son’s friends. “It’s a bunch of eight-year-olds critiquing my film. ‘We thought this one had too much humor, the action was cool but the VFX weren’t as good,’” he said. “I cringe and laugh equally at it.”

The actor doubled down a year later in Vanity Fair’s May 2024 issue, saying: “I got caught up in the improv and the wackiness, and I became a parody of myself. I didn’t stick the landing.”

Hemsworth added he grew frustrated with the character while playing him in four standalone Marvel films and additional “Avengers” movies, explaining: “Sometimes I felt like a security guard for the team. I would read everyone else’s lines, and go, ‘Oh, they got way cooler stuff. They’re having more fun. What’s my character doing?’ It was always about, ‘You’ve got the wig on. You’ve got the muscles. You’ve got the costume. Where’s the lighting?’ Yeah, I’m part of this big thing, but I’m probably pretty replaceable.”

Despite the self-criticism, Hemsworth was always clear that he wanted to give Thor another shot and gives fans the God of Thunder they deserve after the misstep of “Love and Thunder.” He also told Entertainment Weekly in 2023 that his next Thor movie would need to be “unpredictable.” 

“I don’t want to continue to do it until people are so exhausted that they roll their eyes when they see me come on the screen as that character,” Hemsworth said “If an audience wants to see it, and if there’s something that we believe is exciting and fun, then great. I’ve loved being able to reinvent that character a few times. I don’t have the answer yet, but I would love to try and [figure out] how we can do that again and keep it a little unpredictable.”

“Avengers: Doomsday” opens in theaters Dec. 18, 2026. Watch the Thor teaser in the video below.