Thicc Thor Needed Extra Jiggle in Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame was a massive three-hour film that brought plenty of change to the heroes we’ve come to know and love over the past decade. One massive change, of course, was the physical appearance of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) who, after years of living primarily on beer and a little bit of pizza, gained a pretty substantial amount of weight. While his look was by and large practical with the introduction of prosthetics thanks to Legacy Effects, one visual effects vendor was tasked with helping make Thor’s new body as real as possible.

The team at Industrial Light and Magic, led by VFX supervisor Russell Earl, had a little work to do with Thor. In addition to adding a bit of jiggle here and there, the team also cleaned the prosthetic up and helped it move in a more natural way.

“That was a great prosthetic,” Earl tells ComicBook.com. “He was wearing a prosthetic that I believe Legacy [Effects] did for his suit. There was a big scene down the back that we cleaned up and then we just cleaned it up in places where it didn’t quite bend right at the elbows and shoulders.”

“Under the arms, yeah,” he remembers. “I think we ended up adding a little bit of hair here and there. I know, it was a great prosthetic, it just required some cleaning up. I think we added some jiggle in a couple of spots too.”

Thor’s new look was a fairly divisive topic on social media in the days following Avengers: Endgame, with some believing it was a way for the production to body shame. In light of those events, I wrote a piece on why Thor’s transformation was important — not only for the character himself but also for the message Marvel Studios and the Russo Brothers wanted to send.

As it stands now, Avengers: Endgame still has an uphill climb against Avatar in the battle for the top spot at the all-time box office. Through Thursday night, Endgame was grossed $2.63 billion worldwide. James Cameron’s Avatar, on the other hand, still reigns supreme at $2.79b.

What was your favorite character arc in Avengers: Endgame? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Avengers: Endgame is now in theaters and will be followed by Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 2nd. Captain Marvel arrives on digital May 28th before a home media release on July 11th.