Summary

Playing a villain in
Furiosa
let Chris Hemsworth break free from hero expectations, allowing creativity to shine.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
hits theaters today, featuring Hemsworth as the heinous warlord Dementus.
Hemsworth is open to returning to the MCU as Thor, and is expected to feature in the upcoming
Avengers
sequels.

After over a decade of playing Thor in the MCU, Chris Hemsworth said he felt a “perverse” sense of joy shifting from a mighty hero to a heinous villain in George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The long awaited prequel to Miller’s Oscar-winning return to the franchise, Mad Max: Fury Road, sees Hemsworth portray the film’s arch-villain, the cruel and violent warlord known as Dementus. Dementus takes Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) as a child, after her home, the ‘Green Place’, is destroyed, setting Furiosa on a path of revenge.

Hemsworth recently appeared on Hot Ones with Sean Evans to promote Furiosa and, as well as suffering at the hands of spicy chicken wings, revealed that he reveled in the opportunity to play such a cruel villain on screen. When asked if he felt a sense of “perverse joy” in playing the villain, Hemsworth quickly, and enthusiastically responded, “yeah. A lot!”

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 3.5/5 A prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa is an action-adventure film that tells the origin story of the headstrong and fearless Furiosa. Set shortly after the beginning of the “end of the world,” Furiosa is kidnapped and brought before a powerful warlord, now forced to work for him. To find her way back home, Furiosa will adapt to the new harsh and arid world as she grows into the Furiosa she becomes known to be. Release Date May 24, 2024 Runtime 2h 28m

Hemsworth is known for playing the heroes in his various action movies, including Netflix’s Extraction, Men in Black: International, and, most famously, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On that last franchise, Hemsworth said that playing a villain in Furiosa freed him the “restrictions [and] expectations” of playing a hero. Hemsworth said:

“There’s a certain amount of restrictions and expectations when playing the hero, especially a superhero, that you have to abide by and stay within. To play the villain is fun. The shackles are off and you’re allowed to be a little more unpredictable, there’s not as many rules to follow. So, creatively, it was a lot more fun.”

Chris Hemsworth Is Open to Returning as Thor in the Future

Chris Hemsworth’s most popular role is undoubtedly as Thor, the God of Thunder, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Australian-born actor first wielded the hammer, Mjölnir, in 2011’s Thor. Hemsworth has since returned for three more standalone movies, as well as numerous appearances in other MCU projects, including all four Avengers movies. The actor has revealed that he is open to returning as Thor in the future, but says that the character needs to be re-invented to make his return worthwhile.

Related Chris Hemsworth Was Not on George Miller’s Radar for Furiosa Role, but One Meeting Changed Everything Chris Hemsworth engineered a meeting with George Miller that would end up leading to his eventual casting in Furiosa.

Hemsworth’s last appearance as Thor Odinson was in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love & Thunder. While the actor’s performance was as solid as always, the movie was criticized by audiences and critics for leaning to far into the director’s signature quirky humor, which ultimately detracted and undermined the movie’s dramatic moments. Paired with an underwhelming villain (Christian Bale woefully wasted as Gorr the God Butcher) and poor CGI and Thor: Love & Thunder is considered to be one of the weakest entries in the MCU.

Speaking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Hemsworth said that the film’s negative reactions came from a place of complacency. “When it becomes too familiar, I think there’s a risk of getting lazy,” Hemsworth said. The actor then revealed that Thor 5 would have to be “drastically different” to merit the need for Thor to return. Hemsworth continued:

“I think, like ‘Ah, I know what I’m doing,’ you know? So I don’t know – I don’t even know if I’m invited back. But if I was, I think it’d have to be a drastically different version – tone, everything. Just for my own sanity.”

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
releases in theaters today (May 24, 2025). Hemsworth’s appearances as Thor in the MCU can be streamed on Disney+.