20 facts you might not know about 'Thor'

Sam Raimi was riding high off the success of his idiosyncratic horror comedies, and he had made a pseudo-comic film in Darkman. After that, Raimi wanted to make a Thor movie back in 1991 and even met with Stan Lee about it. When Raimi pitched the film to 20th Century Fox, they didn’t get it and passed. Eventually, Raimi would get to make his Marvel movie with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

After Raimi’s project got the boot, the idea of any Thor projects sat idle until the late 1990s. Then, X-Men opened the door for Marvel movies, but the idea for Thor went in a different direction. UPN wanted to make a Thor TV show, with Tyler Mane in talks to star. Once again, nothing came to be.

In 2004, Sony entered talks to make a Thor film. They hired David S. Goyer to write and direct the film. This was, presumably, off of Goyer writing and directing Blade: Trinity. However, Goyer left the project in 2005 and joined the enemy by going to co-write Batman Begins.

Thor moved from Sony to Paramount, when Mark Protosevich, a fan of the Thor comics, signed on to write. Then, Matthew Vaughn signed on to direct, and the movie was given a June 2010 release with the plan to introduce Thor as a character in Iron Man 2. Vaughn would leave the project in 2008, and Thor would end up with a release date of May 6, 2011.

With Vaughn off the project, the production turned to Guillermo del Toro. However, del Toro was more interested in making a movie steeped in Norse mythology and ultimately signed on to direct The Hobbit (which he also didn’t end up directing anyway). D.J. Caruso was approached but didn’t sign on either. Then, Kenneth Branagh entered the mix and signed on to direct the movie.

When casting Tony Stark, Marvel and company went for the big name on a redemption arc in Robert Downey Jr. This time, they were looking at more unknown actors to play Thor. Two of the people to audition were Chris and Liam Hemsworth. Liam was passed on, and initially, Chris was as well. Chris got a second chance to audition; this time, he could lock down the part.

To play Thor, Hemsworth put on 20 pounds of muscle. He says he basically lifted weight for the first time prepping for the movie. To be fair, he was 25 when he was cast. Branagh chose Tom Hiddleston to play Loki because the two previously worked together. Branagh asked the actor to go on a strict diet. In his case, it was to slim down. Specifically, he wanted the character to have a “lean and hungry” look reminiscent of Cassius in Julius Caesar.

Jane Foster made a career change for Thor. In the comics, the character is a nurse. However, owing to the scientific elements of explaining Thor and Asgard, they thought it made sense to alter that. Jane is an astrophysicist in the film.

Why did Portman, an acclaimed actress who would win an Oscar for Black Swan around the time of Thor, sign on to play Jane? This was before every notable actor in Hollywood was in the MCU. Well, because she thought it would be an interesting experience. In fact, her reasoning was, “Kenneth Branagh doing Thor is super weird, I've gotta do it.” Fair enough!

Anthony Hopkins knew nothing about Thor from the comics but was evidently drawn in by the father-and-sons dynamic of it. The Welsh actor may not have been the first choice, though. Mel Gibson said he was asked to take on the role but decided not to do it. Given Gibson’s track record in his personal life, that may need to be taken with a grain of salt.

First, Zachary Levi was going to play Fandral, but there was a scheduling concern. At that point, Stuart Townsend took over the role. However, mere days before filming started, Townsend was replaced due to “creative differences.” This led to Joshua Dallas stepping in late to take on the role.

Adriana Barraza has a one-scene role as Isabella, the diner's owner. However, this role was not intended to be so small. Much of Barraza’s work was cut from the theatrical version in editing. So much was cut Branagh felt compelled to write Barraza a letter apologizing and explaining why all the cuts were made.

Jackson plays Nick Fury in the MCU, a role that pops up in basically every film in the series. Before Thor, he signed a whopping nine-movie deal to play Fury for Marvel. Then, Jackson discovered he would not have a role in the film and was confused during the process. Eventually, Jackson’s Fury would appear briefly uncredited. As would, by the way, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye.

No, we aren’t talking about the Hemsworths again. Alexander Skarsgard was reportedly in the mix for Thor. As a hulking Swedish actor capable of putting on muscles, that tracks. He didn’t get the role. However, his father Stellan Skarsgard did, landing the part of Dr. Erik Selvig.

British actors have a history of, shall we say, not being precious about the films they are in. It’s how Michael Caine can win Oscars and also be in Jaws: The Revenge. Hopkins is no different, but he knows the score when he is on a film. Reportedly, when Hopkins, in full armor, saw Hemsworth in full armor for the first time, he quipped, “God, there’s no acting required here, is there?”

As was always the case when he was alive, Lee has a cameo in Thor. He plays a guy driving a pickup truck. Reportedly, though, this was not the role he would have wanted. Lee evidently always wanted to play Odin, though he said that Hopkins did a good job. Shockingly, an Oscar winner was up to the task.

Much of the movie was shot in California. (This was before Marvel took over Atlanta, Georgia.) But one location was built in New Mexico. When we say “built,” we are being fairly literal. The production went to Galisteo, New Mexico, the home of Cerro Pelon Ranch, a film town used for many Westerns. Thor built extensive sets at Cerro Pelon for the movie.

Branagh brought his Shakespearean stylings to Thor but did not direct one scene. Namely, the post-credits scene involving Fury asking Dr. Selvig about the Tesseract. That was directed by Joss Whedon, who was to direct The Avengers the following year.

We've grown accustomed to Marvel movies dominating the box office. Back in 2011, they were still gaining their footing. Thor did big but not huge business. From a budget of $150 million, it made $181 million domestically and $449.3 million worldwide. That made it the 15th-highest-grossing movie of 2011 in the world, but it was 10th domestically.

Thor did well enough to give us Thor: Dark World in 2013, though Branagh did not return. After a few years in the wilderness, the character was reimagined for Thor: Ragnarok. This paved the way for Thor: Love and Thunder, giving Thor the most starring vehicles of any Marvel character at present.