With Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder now playing in movie theaters around the world, I recently spoke with Chris Hemsworth and writer-director Taika Waititi about making the MCU sequel here in Los Angeles. Since I’d heard the movie had a lot of deleted scenes, I decided to use some of my time to ask them about it. Thankfully, they were more than happy to share why their four-hour cut of the film didn’t work (they sacrificed story for jokes) and how it played like a Monty Python sketch.
Now before you start petitioning Marvel to release the longer version, know that every film has a much longer assembly cut (it’s where the editor includes everything that has been shot) and there is a reason fans never see them — they’re not very good. The assembly cut is the starting point, and it’s often where many filmmakers think they have a disaster on their hands. But over the course of many months, the film slowly comes together until you have a final, sleek product.
That being said, based on the way Hemsworth and Waititi talked about the longer cut of Thor: Love and Thunder, it sure sounds like they have a lot of scenes I’d like to see. Waititi described one where a bunch of soldiers go to have dinner with some French people on a river. For his part, Hemsworth called the assembly cut, “batshit crazy.”
Needless to say I’d love to see this, and I’m sure a lot of MCU fans are in the same boat. Hopefully when the Blu-ray gets released Marvel will include some of those deleted scenes.
In addition to talking about the extended cut of the film, they revealed who Hemsworth would play if he were to guest star on Our Flag Means Death, how the Thor and Darryl short films were instrumental to finding the tone of Thor: Ragnarok, and more.
Check out what they had to say in the player above or read our conversation below.
“Thor: Love and Thunder finds Thor (Hemsworth) on a journey unlike anything he’s ever faced – a quest for inner peace. But his retirement is interrupted by a galactic killer known as Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), who seeks the extinction of the gods. To combat the threat, Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi) and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who – to Thor’s surprise – inexplicably wields his magical hammer, Mjolnir, as the Mighty Thor. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late.”
The film also features Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), and Zeus (Russell Crowe).
COLLIDER: When is Chris going to be on Our Flag Means Death, and what character should he play?
TAIKA WAITITI: Blondebeard.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Blondebeard.
WAITITI: Yeah. Blackbeard's cousin.
HEMSWORTH: When am I receiving that offer?
WAITITI: That offer. Check your inbox. Check your spam mail.
HEMSWORTH: Yeah. Obviously all these are really cool things Taika is doing on the side, and I'm like, "Oh, it's weird. I didn't get a single text, a phone call about it."
WAITITI: Yeah. Same with you. You tell George Miller, we're waiting for mine.
But if Taika were to text you and say, with Our Flag Means Death, would you like to do it? Is it one of these things where you would actually do it?
HEMSWORTH: I'd do whatever he asked me to do.
WAITITI: And I would do whatever he asked me do.
HEMSWORTH: We're two for two right now.
WAITITI: Any chance to come and play together and do things, it's like — I was watching those Thor and Darryl short films. You know?
HEMSWORTH: Yeah.
WAITITI: Those things that we did when ... And that was really just like to test out this new version of Thor just before Ragnarok. We did these tiny little, like Thor flatting in Australia with this character Darryl. And those were great, man, they were so good.
HEMSWORTH: Those set the stage for the whole film. I don't think, if we hadn't of done that, I don't know that the film would've had the same tone, you know?
WAITITI: Yeah.
HEMSWORTH: We just kind of went for it, and it became wacky and mockumentary style, and then on we went.
So I've heard the movie has a lot of deleted scenes. You guys are two for two. I love the way you guys work together. I'm speaking for all fans when I say that. The movie's about two hours. I would've taken a four-hour movie. So how long was your first cut? Are there a lot of deleted scenes?
WAITITI: It was about four hours. And a lot of time on set ... We were talking about this before, like when, in the moment, you're like, "This is the greatest thing that anyone's ever filmed in the history of filming things." And you get into the edit. You're like, "I still kind of like it." And then, after about six months of it being in the movie, you realize it was fun on the day but it doesn't have any business being in the movie.
HEMSWORTH: Batshit crazy, wild, four-hour cut I've ever seen.
WAITITI: Yeah.
You actually saw it?
WAITITI: Yeah, he saw it too. There are so many things in there. I mean, one day it will ... It should be ...
HEMSWORTH: We need a director's cut, or the whatever you want to call it cut.
WAITITI: It's like "the anyone's cut."
HEMSWORTH: "The anyone's cut." Yeah.
WAITITI: The everything bagel.
HEMSWORTH: It was about four hours. It was like a Monty Python sketch.
WAITITI: Yeah.
When people say the four-hour cut, I'm like, "Oh, that's the assembly. People are never going to see it, but it was an actual... So it's a four-hour actual movie."
HEMSWORTH: Pretty much. I wouldn't call it a movie.
WAITITI: I would feel like it's more of an assembly. I think you're right. It's more of an assembly.
HEMSWORTH: An assembly of, like, madness.
WAITITI: Really, about five times, it just gives up on the story and just like just for like 10, 15 minutes of just telling jokes.
HEMSWORTH: The story was sacrificed for jokes.
So let me ask you this: If you were to actually release an extended cut of this movie that was longer than two hours, how long do you think it would be? That actually, it's scenes you were really happy with.
HEMSWORTH: Would you do that? Would you ever go back in?
WAITITI: I don't know. I don't want to see any of the footage ever get in my life, but like—
HEMSWORTH: Yeah, it's so exhausting.
WAITITI: It's so tiring. Last thing I want to go is like, "I guess I have to try that scene again." The film has got a strong structure now. Anything else we put in like a big, long scene like-
HEMSWORTH: Wouldn’t make sense.
WAITITI: Like a bunch of soldiers going to have dinner with some French people on a river, you know? If we put a big, long scene like that, and I feel like…sorry about that.
I think I have to wrap already, which sucks. I'm just going to say, listen, you guys are two for two. I really hope you're making another film together very soon.
HEMSWORTH: Thanks. Mate.
WAITITI: We should.
HEMSWORTH: That's a yes.