Late last year, I interviewed Thor: Ragnarok screenwriter Eric Pearson just prior to the release of the major Marvel blockbuster, and he made a funny remark about the God of Thunder's new accoutrement: an Odin-like eyepatch to cover his missing right eye. Pearson noted that it was in a way a bad trade for star Chris Hemsworth, as while the second Thor sequel allowed him to get rid of his long, blond wig, he had a new annoying issue to deal with moving forward with the character. It turns out that this wasn't that bad a deal, however, as Hemsworth revealed to me this weekend that the eyepatch isn't actually real:
It was... yeah, I remembered being... with the eyepatch, the story unrolling, 'Yeah, cool, this is interesting.' And then the day that we put the eyepatch on I was like, 'This is ridiculous.' The thing kept falling off, and we didn't have the thing [gestures an eyepatch strap]. So it became a CG eyepatch, which I was stoked about... But I'm happy with that trade [for the wig]. It has its downsides. But the upside is that it's an hour less in hair and makeup without the wig on.
As it turns out, the sequences in Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 featuring a one-eyed Thor and an eyepatch will all feature a touch of subtle CGI magic. I had the chance to sit down one-on-one with Chris Hemsworth yesterday at the Los Angeles press day for his new movie, 12 Strong, and it was at the end of our conversation that I brought up his Marvel hero's new disability. I specifically brought up what Eric Pearson said, and the Australian actor had a laugh about it.
You might have guessed that the trial-and-error involving the real eyepatch was done on the set of Thor: Ragnarok, and you'd be correct. However, the ultimate strategy for the piece of costuming that was used on Taika Waititi's set was also used on Joe and Anthony Russo's Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4. I specifically asked if there were any real eyepatches used in the upcoming team-up blockbusters, but Hemsworth said,
No, it's a CG one. Just four little dots on my face! Done.
As you can see in the image above, Chris Hemsworth's Thor won't have his eyepatch on for all of The Avengers: Infinity War (who can say about Avengers 4 at this point), but it will be funny to think about all this when he is wearing it in the film. That won't be until May 4th, but fans will be able to see the actor back on the big screen much sooner than that. 12 Strong, in which Hemsworth stars with Michael Shannon, Trevante Rhodes, Michael Pena, William Fichtner, Rob Riggle and more, will be in theaters on January 19th.
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