Thor Writer Zack Stentz Responds to Viral Casting Meme

If you have been on social media this week -- at least in the geek-friendly parts -- you likely saw some version of a tweet reviving a 10-year-old Vulture article by Mark Graham, in which the writer characterized the casting of Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston as Marvel "rolling the dice" on unknown actors. In hindsight, and with Avengers: Endgame on track to become the highest-grossing movie of all time, it might seem laughable, although in 2009, Thor writer Zack Stentz recalled that Graham was not the only one making such an assessment. At the time, he said, people were asking about more well-known actors, but he and others involved with the production believed in director Kenneth Branagh.

"When we were working on Thor, I got a lot of 'what, some Australian who played Captain Kirk's dad? Why not [Charlie] Hunnam or [Alexander] Skarsgård?' and my answer was always the same. Branagh knows what the hell he's doing when it comes to casting & if he says Hemsworth's the guy, then he's the guy," Stentz tweeted in response to a tweet featuring a screenshot of the Vulture story. "Branagh's casting technique is theater director 101. Lots of readings, often with other potential cast members for chemistry purposes. Seeing how well they take direction, seeing how they pop on camera. It was a grueling process, but one that obviously paid huge dividends."

Stentz, who is reportedly working on in-development screenplays for Booster Gold and Big Trouble in Little China, called out a specific aspect of his own Thor movie that he thinks worked better primarily because Hemsworth was cast. "The wink Thor gives his mom as he kneels in the throne room is the key to the character (it makes you love Thor despite his acting like a giant douchebag for the first half of the movie) and I can't imagine any of the other candidates for the role pulling it off the way he did," Stentz told a fan.

While Thor: The Dark World (which Stentz did not write) is generally regarded as one of the biggest creative failures of the Marvel Cinematic Univese, Thor: Ragnarok was a critical and financial success that revitalized the franchise and seemingly got Hemsworth excited for more. Stentz went on to write X-Men: First Class and several episodes of The Flash after Thor.

Avengers: Endgame is in theaters now, with the next installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- Sony's Spider-Man: Far From Home -- slated for release this summer.

-----

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we explore Game of Thrones' long night, talk more Avengers: Endgame, live-action Sonic the Hedgehog, and more! Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode!