Somehow – in some way – Tom Hiddleston was going to be part of Marvel’s Thor franchise. Obviously, the charismatic thesp earned the role of sinister, conniving Asgardian Loki, and few of us could imagine him in any other role. But the clips shared above and below show that Hiddleston almost scored a different role in the series… that of Thor, himself.
ScreenCrush posted these great GIFs, made from audition footage of Hiddleston going out for the God of Thunder. The site says that they have been made from clips that will be on the Thor: The Dark World DVD and Blu-ray, due in stores on Feb. 25. Watch a blonde-ish Hiddleston wield Mjolnir below!
Chris Hemsworth eventually earned the Thor role (duh), and Marvel was smart enough to keep Hiddleston in the fold. And outside of the Marvel heroes, there’s no other character who has appeared in as many movies as Hiddleston due to Loki being the main villain in Joss Whedon’s first The Avengers. Sure, Hugh Jackman has him beat for the sheer number of times he has tried on Wolverine’s claws. But from the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and the movies that fit into the studio’s various phases – Hiddleston is "king."
Would Hiddleston have made a good Thor? Hard to say, though I’m suddenly dying to watch this footage in some context to see how he might have played it. All I can say with any certainty is that Hemsworth (based on what we’ve seen from him in other roles) wouldn’t have brought the same kinky menace to Loki. And passing on Hiddleston altogether would have robbed us of this cinematic gold. Thank the gods of Marvel for keeping our superhero universe in balance.
And this, just because it’s brilliant.
