Warning: This post contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.
During the events of Avengers: Endgame, the characters all go through some major transformations. But no other character quite goes through what Thor does and after failing to kill Thanos the first time he becomes depressed and gains a serious amount of weight.
While Chris Hemsworth was seriously shredded to play Thor, he had to wear a fat suit for Endgame because he also had to do reshoots for Infinity War at the same time.
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo have described the fat suit as “scary” due to the fact the action sequences were so physically demanding.
Speaking with Business Insider, Anthony said, “We had to toggle back and forth… While we were shooting Endgame where he was heavier we had to do some pickup shots for Infinity War, so he would have to go back and forth between those two looks.
“So he had to wear a bodysuit, and it was quite heavy. That suit started to wear on his back, which was scary when you have someone who has to be so physical.”
Joe added that the stakes of making the movie “were even less significant than the physical toll”.
“That’s the thing that you stare down every day. The hours are intense. You’re shooting for a year straight. We were working seven days a week, on average 15 hours a day, for a year.”
Thankfully, the brothers are huge comic-book fans and it was their passion for the comics that got them through the schedule.
Anthony said, “It’s special for Joe and I. We know we have a huge passion for the material, and we know it’s something we’re extremely motivated to do and something we want to spend our time doing.”
The brothers have also been forced to defend Thor’s new look in the film. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, they said it was their way of showing just how much Thor has fallen apart following the Snap. Asgard had been destroyed, along with nearly everyone he knew and cared for.
Anthony explained, “Even though there’s a lot of fun to be had in the movie with his physical condition, it’s not a gag.”
“It’s a manifestation of where he is on a character level, and we think it’s one of the most relatable aspects of him. I mean, it’s a very common sort of response to depression and pain.”
To those disappointed in fat Thor in Endgame:
Let’s see how you handle losing your dad, mom, brother, best friend, magic hammer, home planet, killing your sister, and failing to save half of all life in the universe when you got the chance.
Spoiler Alert: You’d look like this pic.twitter.com/M1XxXECDja
— TreyCole?? (@howelltreyton) May 4, 2019
At the end of the film Thor gives the crown to Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie and heads off with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and with a hint of optimism refers to the group as “The Asgardians of the Galaxy, back together again!”
Anthony said, “He may have made some repair in this movie and made progress, but that experience that brought him to that physical condition is still with him, and it’s a longer road beyond that.”
“We don’t know what that road beyond that is for him.”