Thor: Love and Thunder is expected to be filled with hilarious moments, mainly because director Taika Waititi is back in charge. Waititi gave new life to the Thor franchise when he took over during 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, infusing Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder with comedic antics that allowed him to shine through. While the stakes are raised in the upcoming sequel, an iconic and hilarious scene made its way online that earned an overwhelming reception from fans.
The scene in question is Hemsworth's bare-ass scene that was featured in Thor 4's official trailer. The sequence, which was featured at the tail-end of the trailer, showed Zeus flicking his fingers to remove Thor's cape, resulting in a funny shot of Hemsworth's bare naked, yet pixelated, muscular body.
Now, amid the first reactions of critics on social media, Hemsworth and Waititi have both opened up about the much-talked-about scene from Love and Thunder.
Chris Hemsworth Addresses Bare Ass Scene in Thor 4
During the premiere of Thor: Love and Thunder, Chris Hemsworth spoke to Variety to talk about his bare-ass scene that was featured in the film's trailer.
Hemsworth first pointed out that this wasn't the first time that his butt debuted in a movie, saying that it already happened during 2013's Rush:
"I had my [ass] out in Rush many years ago. In a Marvel film, it was on a very large screen. It was a very big pair of cheeks. I don't know. I've seen them before. Whatever."
When asked if he did a lot of squats for that moment, the MCU veteran admitted that making that scene was "10 years in the making:"
"I did a lot of everything. It was 10 years in the making, that scene — kind of a dream of mine. The first time I played Thor I took my shirt off and I thought, 'You know what's gonna sweeten this...'"
Thor 4 director Taika Waititi also spoke with Variety about the hilarious scene, saying that it was his and Marvel producer Brad Winderbaum's idea:
"I want to take the credit, but me and [producer] Brad [Winderbaum] talked about it and we said, 'We've got to show the body.' My whole thing was like, 'We've got to show it off. Don't cover it up with all these suits and capes."
Barry Baz Idoine, Thor: Love and Thunder's director of photography, told Deadline what it was like to shoot Hemsworth's butt during production:
"It’s incredibly hard to shoot Chris Hemsworth’s butt. I mean nobody concentrates. Nobody does their job. Everybody is looking at the butt and not looking at what they're supposed to be doing."
In a separate interview with Entertainment Tonight, Hemsworth and Waititi continued to discuss the hilarious butt scene.
While Hemsworth first quipped that it was "a contractual obligation" that made him return to do Thor 4, Waititi hilariously crashed the interview. The Thor star joked that the director took his pants off, with Waititi quickly clarifying that it happened "in the movie:"
ET: "What is it about Taika that is, like, very special, and that made you wanna come back again?"
Hemsworth: "Obviously a contractual obligation. If it was my choice it wouldn't have happened."
Hemsworth: "Oh yeah, you took my pants off didn't you?" [Upon Waititi's crashing of the interview]
Waititi: "In the movie! In the movie."
Waititi, in his own comedic prowess, admitted that Hemsworth "didn't even know we were shooting" the scene while he was butt-naked:
"He didn't even know we were shooting. He didn't even know there were cameras rolling at all."
Hemsworth opened up about stripping down for Love and Thunder, sharing that it involved "a lot of work:"
"It was a lot of work to get ready. But, I mean, it was kind of 10, 11 years in the making, that shot. In each film, we've taken off another item of clothing, and now we just kind of took it all off. And that was all [Taika Waititi's] doing."
How Chris Hemsworth's Provocative Scene Affected Thor 4's Rating
Chris Hemsworth and Taika Waititi's solid bond on and off screen definitely allowed the bare-ass scene to happen in Thor: Love and Thunder. The sequel marks the third time that they worked together, after being involved in team-ups during Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame.
That said, it's safe to assume that Waititi earned Hemsworth's trust when it comes to showing off his behind in the movie, and it looks like it all went perfectly based on their hilarious banter. The fact that Hemsworth also noted that it was "kind of a dream" of his to strip down in a Marvel movie also cements the success of the hilarious sequence.
Aside from making history as Thor by starring in his fourth solo movie, Hemsworth also joins Mark Ruffalo's Hulk (during Ragnarok) as the only two Avengers whose bare butts are shown on the big screen. Love and Thunder also made MCU history through its naughty rating, with the film receiving a PG-13 rating due to "partial nudity," the first time an MCU movie has received the designation.
While the trailer showed a blurred-out scene of Hemsworth's behind, it's safe to assume that it is not in a blurry state in the final cut.
Thor: Love and Thunder is set to premiere in theaters on July 8.
