All in the family. Thor: Love and Thunder has lots of roles for children, but Chris Hemsworth‘s daughter India Hemsworth could potentially have a future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. [Spoiler Alert: The end of Thor: Love and Thunder is revealed below!]
India, 10, plays Love, who initially dies in the film’s opening. However, her father, Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), brings her back to life at the end of the action movie. Since the villain knows he can’t survive, he asks Thor (Hemsworth) to care for his child.
In the final scene, Love is shown being raised by her “Uncle Thor,” and the young girl argues with the superhero about wearing her boots. “It was just like when I’m at home, trying to tell her to do anything, she’s like, ‘Pfft, no, I’ll do it my way.’ And power to her, good on her, because she did an incredible job,” Hemsworth, 38, told Marvel.com in an interview published Saturday, July 9.
The two eventually say they love each other before running outside into battle. Thor has Mjölnir, his magic hammer, and Love carries Stormbreaker, the axe used to kill Thanos.
India didn’t automatically get the role, despite her dad’s role as star and executive producer. Hemsworth — who shares India with wife Elsa Pataky — helped her tape an audition for director Taika Waititi, and he found himself feeling “nervous” while she was one set. However, the newcomer was having tons of fun.
“I love the ownership the kids have in moments like that,” Hemsworth explained. “It’s a good reminder, all of it, for all of us just to stay true to who you are and not get caught up in the self-importance of it all. [Kids] really bring you back to Earth and ground the whole experience.”
Bale, 48, revealed that the leading man was always on set with India, even in scenes where he wasn’t needed. “Chris was a wonderfully attentive dad, just off-camera all the time, just checking she was all right, giving me thumbs up, me giving him thumbs up, checking,” the Batman actor told Marvel.com. “It was really endearing seeing the two of them. He sort of let her be, and she did it herself.”
India’s involvement led to Waititi, 46, making the film a family affair. Her mom, Pataky, appears as the wolf woman who Thor passionately kisses in a flashback. Her little brothers, twins Tristan and Sasha, 8, even scored cameos, with Tristan playing young Thor and Sasha playing an Asgardian kid.
“It was not always the plan,” the director, who also plays Korg, explained of the family cameos. “The idea started really when Chris was talking about [his daughter] India. And he was like, ‘Oh, you know, it would kind of be quite cool for me to be in a scene with my daughter.’ I started looking around like, ‘Oh, everyone has kids. All of these actors have kids.'”
Natalie Portman shares son Aleph, 11, and Amalia, 5, with husband Benjamin Millepied. Bale shares daughter Emmeline Bale, 17, and son Joseph, 7, with wife Sibi Blažić. Waititi shares daughters Te Kāinga o te Hinekāhu, 10, and Matewa Kiritapu, 6, with ex Chelsea Wistanley.
“I really love the idea that my kids can look back on this moment and be like, oh wow, we were there. There’s a record of it,” Waititi emphasized.
However, the God of Thunder actor said that this was a “one-off” experience, despite the ending clearly leaving room for Love to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe one day.
“I don’t want them to now go and be child stars and actors,” Hemsworth told Good Day DC. “It was just a special experience we all had and they loved it. They had a great time.”
It seems the kids were the reason Thor: Love and Thunder has such a powerhouse cast. Portman, 41, hasn’t played Jane Foster since Thor: The Dark World in 2014, and she returned because her little ones love Marvel.
“I feel like it’s the phase of my career where I’m really trying to just impress my kids,” she told Variety last month. “My 5-year-old and my 10-year-old were so enthralled by this process, getting to visit the set and see me dressed up in a cape. It made it really cool. You know, it’s very rare that my kids are like, ‘Please go to work!’ Usually, it’s quite the opposite.”
Bale echoed the sentiment in June when he recalled telling his family that he probably wouldn’t take the role as Love and Thunder’s villain due to scheduling conflicts. “I said to my family, ‘I don’t think it’s going to work out,’ and they went, ‘No, you make it work out. You’re doing this, Dad.’ They gave me my marching orders, and I dutifully obeyed,” he told ScreenRant at the time.
Thor: Love and Thunder is in theaters now.
