Thor 4 Concept Art Shows Chris Hemsworth's Alternate Endgame-Inspired Costume
"Avengers: Endgame" sure has some exciting transformations, none more so than the former king of Asgard, Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth). Having turned to food and alcohol to cope with the guilt he feels over failing to kill Thanos (Josh Brolin) in "Avengers: Infinity War," Thor is overweight, unkempt, and depressed until the Blip. Finally, presented with the opportunity to go head-to-head with the Mad Titan once again, the God of Thunder cleans himself up, summoning a bolt of lightning to braid his beard and change into his suit. According to concept artist Aleksi Briclot, this returning protective gear almost influenced his outfit in Taika Waititi's "Thor: Love and Thunder."
Briclot's character design shows Thor looking like a much more seasoned warrior than the amped-up '80s comic book version we get in the fourth installment. "Not the big epic and colorful armor in this case. Something with some zen vibes. I was working from the armor he was wearing in 'Avengers: Endgame,' getting from black to white (following the character evolution in the story, it's another new step in his path)," Briclot wrote, "and I was also referring [to] the scales on the torso of Captain America." Well, it's only fair. Steve (Chris Evans) did copy his beard, after all.
In hindsight, it's understandable that as awesome as Briclot's character design for Thor looks, it might not have suited the aesthetic of "Love and Thunder," which turns the wild color scheme of "Thor: Ragnarok" up to 100. It's not the first time there have been complications concerning Hemsworth's hero getup either. Even with a final design, getting him into the outfit for 2011's "Thor" was a battle.
Chris Hemsworth once got pins and needles in his hands from trying on his Thor costume
You only need to skim through the trailers for all four "Thor" films to see that Chris Hemsworth has been bulking up ever since he was cast in the role, making lifting the hammer look easier with every installment. Unfortunately, the actor hit a snag when he got too big for his costume before filming his scenes for the first one. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times back in 2011, Hemsworth recalled, "[The filmmakers] kept saying, 'Yeah, just get as big as you can, big as you can.' And then I came back ... just before we started the movie and had a final sort of camera test and put the costume on, and within a couple of minutes, my hands started going numb."
Assessing the attire, it didn't take long for Hemsworth and those around him to realize the issue. "Everyone was like, 'Yeah, that's not cool'. And I started getting pins and needles and you'd touch the skin and the blood wouldn't return to that area so quick. And I thought, 'Okay, it doesn't fit.'" Fortunately, this minor setback was resolved after some alterations to both his costume and his diet and exercise routine and Hemsworth became the well-attired Avenger (albeit not the strongest) appearing in nine installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thankfully with hammers and axes rather than pins and needles.