Thor: Love and Thunder made its way onto Disney+ after a rollercoaster run in theaters, causing a huge divide amongst Marvel fans, particularly over its use of CGI. Director Taika Waititi has even addressed some of the more controversial moments, which started early in the movie with the introduction of a new character.
This came with Kieron L. Dyer's MCU debut as Axl, Heimdall's never-before-seen son, as he used his newfound powers to contact Thor once Gorr the God Butcher kidnapped the children of Asgard. Unfortunately, this moment turned out to be one of the lowlights in Thor 4 from a visual perspective, even leading Disney to adjust the CGI once it came to Disney+.
Now, a few weeks after the movie became available to stream, the actor behind that moment shared his thoughts on how everything went down with Thor: Love and Thunder's most controversial VFX shot.
Thor 4 Star Reflects on Questionable CGI Moment
Speaking with ComicBookMovie's Josh Wilding, Thor: Love and Thunder star Kieron L. Dyer addressed the floating head VFX moment from the Marvel Studios sequel.
When asked about the process behind filming that scene, Dyer noted how he was the only one on set at the moment along with Taika as he sat in a chair. His material was filmed separately from the shot in the film with Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Tessa Thompson:
“Yeah, so it was funny how they did it actually, because I thought I was going to be with the other actors when I did it but… so what happened was I came to set and I was the only person there. Because how they filmed it was, I was kind of sitting in this chair and the camera was like here, on my face, and it was just focusing on me. And Taika was there saying the other lines, as I say my lines. And so then he showed me the shot after of how they filmed that, because I wasn’t there when they filmed. They filmed it separately and kind of put my face in the scene.”
He also looked back to how fun it was, especially playing a new character that wasn't originally in the comics:
“Oh yeah, it definitely was. It was really fun. And I also think that because Axl is a new character, like you said, and he isn’t in the comics, it was really fun to be able to play around with that… with Chris and with Taika.”
Dyer revealed that he spoke to Heimdall star Idris Elba about working on the movie, even after assuming they wouldn't meet due to not having any scenes together. While he was working on schoolwork, his dad got a call from the crew asking for them to meet Elba, which was a memorable experience for the young actor:
“We did actually get to speak while I was working on the film and one of the main things that I was so excited about was not only being able to be his son but… I knew I didn’t have any scenes with him, so I kind of assumed that I wasn’t gonna get to meet him. But one time, when I was doing my schoolwork, my dad went out to take a phone call and he came back in and he was like, ‘Oh, the crew want you to meet Idris Elba, he’s on set right now.’ And I was like, ‘Oh okay.’ And then I went on set with my dad, and then they introduced me to him, and it was surreal. I had such a good time. He’s such a cool guy. I’m so glad I got to meet him.”
Later in the interview, he addressed his potential future with the MCU, unsure of what's going to happen but expressing openness to returning to the role:
“I have absolutely no idea what Marvel’s gonna do. I’m not sure at the moment. I mean… I’m just gonna wait and see. But yeah.”
The topic moved to 2025's Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, which he said he would "absolutely love to be in" if he gets the chance.
The Details Behind Thor 4's Floating Head Moment
Dyer's experience working on Thor: Love and Thunder turned out to be fairly standard, especially considering how big blockbuster movies have been filmed during the post-pandemic era. Many of the more CGI-heavy moments only include the actors involved with the scene and a couple of crew members, although that process still doesn't exactly make up for the fact that the post-production work on Dyer's moment didn't turn out well.
Thankfully, Dyer had a fun experience bringing Axl into the MCU, helping continue the Asgardian legacy that's been building since the God of Thunder first arrived in 2011's Thor.
It's especially heartwarming to hear about his moment meeting Idris Elba, who returned for a quick post-credits moment in Valhalla following Jane Foster's death. Seeing Dyer get a chance to meet somebody so deeply ingrained in the comic book movie world shows just how much of a family atmosphere Marvel works to build, even considering that Elba is one of the biggest actors in the industry today.
Thor: Love and Thunder is now streaming on Disney+.
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