Being the God of Thunder is not an easy responsibility, and after more than a decade of entertaining audiences as Thor, Chris Hemsworth finds himself in a very different point of his career. The current Marvel Cinematic Universe landscape is quite different from what it used to be only a few years ago, and the actor is aware of it. During a recent interview with GQ, Hemsworth spoke about what it might take the for new Marvel movies to bring the franchise to its former glory. Apparently, the answer is to focus on the characters’ feelings instead of the massive explosions and references to other projects:
That’s the trick: you have to separate all those stories. The moment it’s like, ‘Your world is in danger, the entire universe!’ It’s like, ‘Yeah, so [it] was the last 24 films.’ It has to become a bit more personal and grounded.
While there’s no denying that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still relevant to this day, recent releases have received a lukewarm reception from critics, and the box office receipts show that audiences will no longer show up for a movie only because Marvel Studios produced it. There has to be something interesting about any upcoming story if the studio hopes to see theaters filled with fans again, and the emotional journeys the characters go through need to be more grounded in reality. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has been dead for a few years now, and it’s time for somebody else to take the lead.
The next movie from the series set to fly into theaters is The Marvels. As a sequel to Captain Marvel and a continuation to a couple of television series from the franchise, the movie will introduce Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) to Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani). Together, the heroes need to figure out why they switch places across the universe every time they use their powers, making it impossible for them to live their lives. The journey will take them in an inevitable collision course with a powerful villain, and hopefully they can control their powers in time to stop the coming threat.
The Uncertain Future of the MCU
Back at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Feige was excited to reveal the next chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Enough time had passed since Thanos’ defeat at the hand of the Avengers, and the characters of the franchise needed a new direction to march towards. Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) was revealed to be moving the strings of history during the first season of Loki, and he was presented as the new major threat for Earth’s mightiest heroes. However, recent controversy surrounding Majors’ violent behavior leaves the franchise’s future in uncertainty.
You can check out Collider’s interview with Chris Hemsworth below: