Chris Hemsworth Promises More Humor In Thor: Ragnarok

In a new interview, Thor: Ragnarok star Chris Hemsworth praises director Taika Waititi and says the Thor threequel will be "more fun" than The Dark World, adding that the upcoming Marvel Studios production allowed Hemsworth to improvise with the Asgardian Avenger like never before.

Since Thor's last solo feature in 2013's Thor: The Dark World, leading man Chris Hemsworth returned to the role in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron before taking supporting turns in Vacation and Ghostbusters, where the Australian native received critical praise for his comedic chops.

"I felt in the first film, we had a lot of sort of fish-out-of-water humor and you know, it was the origin story, so there was a lot of naivety and it was sort of Crocodile Dundee," Hemsworth told Slashfilm, adding that the story of the second film "didn't lend itself to many opportunities to have those moments of humor, and I've missed that."

"I was like, 'Oh, where can we put in some more stuff here? And have more fun?'" Hemsworth recalls of the sequel, which pitted Thor against Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) and the Dark Elves. "When I saw the film I was happy with it, but I thought the next one's gotta be more fun," Hemsworth shares before turning his attention to Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, director of the well-received comedies What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

"I was a big fan of Taika's work and think in all of his films, he strikes this beautiful balance of humor and heart," Hemsworth says. "It's all grounded in a reality we can kind of relate to. But it's fun and enjoyable, and that's what we're gonna do with [Thor: Ragnarok]."

"What I said before about pushing it in that direction, this could be a flat-out comedy if we wanted, or we could pull it back and meet it in the middle," Hemsworth says of Ragnarok, which will pair the golden-haired god with fellow Avenger the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in what has been previously described as an intergalactic buddy road movie. "I've never improvised so much with this character which has been really exciting. Taika will just yell suggestions while rolling — 'Try this, try that' — and so on. And that has really come to change the game for myself and for the film."

Thor once again finds himself a fish-out-of-water on the planet of Sakaar, a new addition to the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There he'll be reunited with the Hulk, where the two Avengers will be pitted against one another in a deadly gladiatorial contest. "The situations he finds himself in are very much removed from any kind of Asgardian, ethereal times he had before," Hemsworth shares of Thor, who has evolved since his first adventure on Earth.

"There's greater awareness" and "a maturity" to Thor now, he says, removing him from the immature and brash Thor that eagerly sought the destruction of Frost Giants in the earliest moments of his first solo movie.

"We've gotta kinda go, okay, what was specifically here? What would we expect Thor to do or say? And how can we come out from the other direction?" Hemsworth asks. "And that lends into kinda going, 'Oh, this doesn't even feel like the character anymore,' which I think is a good thing."

In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok – the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization – at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela. But first, he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger – The Incredible Hulk!

Thor: Ragnarok is directed by Taika Waititi from a screenplay by Eric Pearson, and stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins.

Thor: Ragnarok opens in theaters on November 3, 2017. Advance tickets are now on sale wherever tickets are sold.