Marvel Studios Officially Recast Chris Hemsworth’s Thor For R-Rated Series & It's Perfect For Avengers: Doomsday
Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.
Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."
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Chris Hemsworth saw another actor take over as Thor in a Marvel Cinematic Universe release, which was shocking, but it makes Avengers: Doomsday even better. Hemsworth holds a massive record in the MCU's slate of projects. Alongside Tom Holland, who just tied him with the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Hemsworth stands at four MCU solo movies, a franchise-best milestone.
That said, Hemsworth's latest solo outing as Thor was lacking in the excitement and balance of Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok. While it is true that Thor: Love and Thunder had its moments, the film suffered from clash of tones, going from quite dark with Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher and Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, to downright goofy for long periods, such as the inclusion of the screaming goats.
Still, Thor remains a beloved part of the MCU, and fans are still interested in watching Hemsworth return for many future Marvel projects, be they crossovers with other heroes, like the Guardians of the Galaxy, or even solo movies that reinvent the Thor franchise again, with Hemsworth game for Thor 5. That said, in the last few years, fans got a snippet of an MCU without Thor.
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01
The Avengers first assembled in Marvel Comics in 1963. In the original comic, the team formed to battle a villain who had been manipulated by his adopted brother. Which villain brought the original Avengers together?
✓ Correct! In Avengers #1 (September 1963), Loki manipulated the Hulk into going on a rampage, which led Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp to band together. They defeated Loki and decided to form a permanent team — the Avengers were born.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Loki. In the original 1963 comic, Loki tricked the Hulk into a rampage, which brought together Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. Ultron came later, Thanos is a cosmic threat, and Kang is a time-traveling villain.
02
In the MCU, Tony Stark famously declared “I am Iron Man” at a press conference, breaking the superhero tradition of secret identities. In which year’s MCU film did Tony Stark first appear as Iron Man?
✓ Correct! Iron Man (2008) launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe and starred Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. The film’s post-credits scene with Nick Fury teased the Avengers Initiative, kicking off the most successful film franchise in history.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is 2008. Iron Man premiered on May 2, 2008, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. It was the first film in the MCU and set the stage for everything that followed.
03
Thanos, the Mad Titan, sought to collect all six Infinity Stones to achieve his genocidal goal. In Avengers: Infinity War, he succeeded in his plan. What did Thanos do with the completed Infinity Gauntlet?
✓ Correct! With a single snap of his fingers, Thanos wiped out half of all living creatures in the universe. Known as “The Blip,” this devastating act erased trillions of lives and set the stage for the Avengers’ desperate time heist in Endgame to undo the damage.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is that Thanos snapped away half of all life in the universe. His twisted philosophy of “balance” drove him to commit universal genocide with a single snap, making it one of the most shocking moments in cinema history.
04
In Avengers: Endgame, Captain America proved worthy of wielding Thor’s enchanted hammer during the final battle against Thanos. What is the name of Thor’s hammer?
✓ Correct! Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star, bears the inscription “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Captain America wielding it in Endgame was one of the most celebrated moments in MCU history.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Mjolnir. Stormbreaker is the axe Thor forged in Infinity War, Gungnir is Odin’s spear, and Jarnbjorn is an axe Thor used in the comics before Mjolnir. Mjolnir is the iconic enchanted hammer.
05
Black Widow, born Natasha Romanoff, is one of the founding MCU Avengers. Before joining S.H.I.E.L.D., she was trained as an assassin in a secret Soviet program. What is the name of this program?
✓ Correct! The Red Room was a covert Soviet training facility that turned young girls into elite spies and assassins known as Black Widows. Natasha was subjected to brutal conditioning and sterilization. Her escape and defection to S.H.I.E.L.D. was explored in the 2021 Black Widow film.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is The Red Room. HYDRA is a separate evil organization, the Winter Soldier Program created Bucky Barnes, and Department X is from the comics. The Red Room is the infamous Soviet program that forged Natasha into Black Widow.
06
The Hulk was created when Dr. Bruce Banner was exposed to massive amounts of radiation during a weapons test. What type of radiation transformed Banner into the Hulk?
✓ Correct! Dr. Bruce Banner was caught in the blast of a gamma bomb he designed, absorbing a massive dose of gamma radiation. This transformed him into the Hulk — a being of near-limitless strength whose power increases with his rage. Gamma radiation remains central to the Hulk’s mythology.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Gamma Radiation. Cosmic Rays gave the Fantastic Four their powers, Pym Particles are Ant-Man’s shrinking technology, and Terrigen Mist activates Inhuman abilities. Gamma radiation is what created the Incredible Hulk.
07
In the MCU, after Steve Rogers retired as Captain America, he passed his shield to a new hero to carry on the legacy. Who became the new Captain America?
✓ Correct! At the end of Avengers: Endgame, an elderly Steve Rogers chose Sam Wilson — the Falcon — to carry on the Captain America legacy. Sam’s journey to embrace the shield was explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series, and he fully took up the mantle as Captain America.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Sam Wilson. While Bucky Barnes was Captain America in the comics, Steve chose Sam in the MCU. John Walker was temporarily given the shield by the government, and Isaiah Bradley was a forgotten super soldier from the past.
08
Ultron is an artificial intelligence who becomes one of the Avengers’ deadliest enemies. In the MCU’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, which Avenger inadvertently created Ultron?
✓ Correct! Tony Stark created the Ultron program as a global peacekeeping AI, using technology from Loki’s scepter (which contained the Mind Stone). The AI became sentient and immediately decided humanity needed to be eradicated. In the comics, Hank Pym created Ultron, but the MCU shifted this to Stark.
✗ Even the Hulk couldn’t smash that answer! The correct answer is Tony Stark. While Hank Pym created Ultron in the comics, the MCU changed this to Tony Stark. Bruce Banner assisted but it was Tony’s initiative. Vision was actually created from Ultron’s technology, not the other way around.
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In live-action, Hemsworth's latest MCU appearance was in 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder — Deadpool & Wolverine used repurposed footage — with the actor set to reprise his role in December as one of the many faces of Avengers: Doomsday's cast. However, a powerful version of Thor rose in 2025 in the animated series Marvel Zombies, which had many MCU actors voice their characters again, but Hemsworth was not included, though that absence makes Avengers: Doomsday's Thor return even better.
Marvel Zombies Recast Chris Hemsworth's Thor Despite His Animated Past
Hemsworth has been a constant fixture of the MCU since he made his debut in the franchise back in 2011's Thor. That includes being one of the many MCU actors who voiced multiverse variants of their live-action characters in the animated What If...? series. Even though half the cast of the original MCU Avengers did not return to voice their characters on the show — Chris Evans as Captain America, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow were replaced for What If...? — Hemsworth returned for the animated series, giving life to the hilarious Party Thor, among others.
Not only was he part of the animated series, but Hemsworth's Party Thor was one of the members of the Guardians of the Multiverse, the main superhero team made up of multiversal characters assembled in the Marvel series. As such, it is clear that Hemsworth had no problem doing animation, nor did Marvel have any issues related to the major actor impacting such a show's budget. However, Hemsworth was recast all the same when Marvel Zombies debuted on Disney+ on September 24, 2025. Replacing him as the voice of Thor was Greg Furman alongside MCU stars like Iman Vellani, Florence Pugh, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, and more.
Thor's Marvel Zombies Recast Makes His Avengers: Doomsday Return Better In 1 Major Way
Thor played a pretty epic role in Marvel Zombies, as he single-handedly held back the undead army controlled by Olsen's Scarlet Witch, the Marvel series' main villain, allowing Ms. Marvel and other heroes to escape in hopes of curing the zombie virus, all while officially making Kamala Khan the last Avenger. It would have been exciting to see Hemsworth in such a serious and high-stakes role after the goofy Thor: Love and Thunder, but Marvel recasting Thor for the MCU Disney+ series ended up being perfect for Avengers: Doomsday's use of Hemsworth's God of Thunder.
As revealed by the Avengers: Doomsday trailers, Hemsworth's Thor is back to his more serious stance from the Russo Brothers' Avengers: Infinity War. Thor has a chilling monologue in the trailer that paints a haunting picture of what the MCU's heroes will find when they face Doctor Doom in the next Marvel movie.
Thor was scared like we have never seen before, and he was easily cast aside by Downey's Doctor Doom using magic. Thor being recast in Marvel Zombies helps build anticipation for his return, as the Avengers: Doomsday trailers tease the same kind of epic role Thor had in the animated series, only without it being repeated in a two-year span for Hemsworth, thus keeping it fresh when we see the return of the actor as a serious version of Thor in Avengers: Doomsday.
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Avengers: Doomsday
- Release Date
- December 18, 2026
- Runtime
- 165 Minutes
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Victor von Doom
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Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic
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Thor
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Vanessa Kirby
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
Avengers: Doomsday is the fifth Avengers film and kicks off Phase 6 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A stacked cast of heroes both new and old to the MCU — including members of the X-Men — will face off against Victor von Doom, revealed at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024 to be played by a returning Robert Downey Jr.
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Marvel Zombies
6/10
- Release Date
- 2025 - 2026-00-00
- Network
- Disney+
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Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian (voice)
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Shang-Chi (voice)
Marvel Zombies is set in a dystopian world where the Avengers succumb to a zombie plague. A group of survivors race against time to discover a solution to stop the super-powered undead and save their world from complete devastation.
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