Avengers Endgame: Why Chris Hemsworth did NOT gain weight himself for 'fat Thor'

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame.

When Endgame jumps forward five years soon after the opening act, we realise the God of Thunder’s grief has spiralled into a reclusive lifestyle with video games, beer and long, unkempt hair.

Hemsworth did, as many know, use a suit to play the part, rather than bulking up in weight himself – because Endgame was being filmed back-to-back with Infinity War; meaning there wasn’t time for the Australian star to gain weight.

While it’s not clear if Hemsworth would have changed his body shape under different scheduling circumstances, it seems the option was not even available to him here.

Factor in the fact that Infinity War reshoots were running concurrently with principle photography on Endgame, and the so-called ‘fat suit’ became the only option.

Co-director Anthony Russo told CinemaBlend: “He was so ignited by the work that he had done with Taika [Waititi] in Ragnarok that he was definitely in a zone where he was really excited about being adventurous and edgy with what Thor could be and where he could go.

“I think the only downside for the whole experience for Hemsworth was that the fat suit was quite heavy.

“We had to keep – the proximity of shooting these [two movies] was pretty tight.

Anthony added: “Before the script was ready, when we called him to pitch the character arc, he was either still finishing or had just finished Ragnarok, but he was so energised by the work he had done with Taika (Waititi) in that movie in terms of coming up with a comedic and irreverent Thor.”

Where Thor goes from here remains to be seen, but the ending of Endgame implied that he will embark on adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

The next movie for that troupe is set to go into production once director James Gunn has completed the Suicide Squad sequel for DC.

Avengers: Endgame is out now.