While Thor star Chris Hemsworth has proved himself adept at both more serious action/thriller roles, as well as having some incredible comedic chops, we’ve yet to see him as an out-and-out villain. This could be about to change with his role in the Mad Max prequel – Furiosa.
Kyle Buchanan has an incredibly detailed and well-researched book called Blood, Sweat & Chrome – The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road coming out on February 22. He obviously spoke with writer-director George Miller extensively for the book, and he told the Blank Check Pod that; “They have Chris Hemsworth as the villain, who I heard was called Dr. Dementus” in Furiosa.
Furiosa has been much-delayed, like many movies in the last few years. Anya Taylor-Joy is set to star as a younger version of Charlize Theron’s Furiosa and Tom Burke plays an unspecified role. Unbelievably, Furiosa will be the first movie that Chris Hemsworth has ever made in his native Australia. Although, he obviously appeared in an episode of Neighbours and more extensively, on Home and Away – as is the law for all Australian actors.
Hemsworth’s Hollywood break came in 2009’s Star Trek, playing Captain Kirk’s father George. In 2011, he had the double-whammy of Drew Goddard’s The Cabin in the Woods and his first entry in the MCU – Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. He’s also had dramatic roles in Ron Howard’s Rush and In the Heart of the Sea, and in Michael Mann’s Blackhat.
In 2016, Hems got to break out the comedy chops in Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters, which was something that Taika Waititi took full advantage of in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok. In 2018, he reteamed with Drew Goddard for the brilliant thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. Hemsworth has already wrapped Thor: Love and Thunder, and is currently filming action sequel Extraction 2 for Netflix.
If what Buchanan says is true, it will be exciting to see Hemsworth as a villain in George Miller’s highly-anticipated Furiosa. Expectations are through the roof after Mad Max: Fury Road won six Oscars in 2016 and was even nominated for Best Picture and Best Director.
While we wait for more Furiosa updates, check out our guide to the best action movies, to find out if Mad Max: Fury Road is there…