Thor: When Kenneth Branagh wanted to change Mjölnir’s name, too difficult to pronounce
“Couldn’t we call him Uru instead?” the director asked Kevin Feige.
Marvel’s productions have ruled the box office since 2008, and on the 15th anniversary of its first two films, The Incredible Hulk And Iron Man, a book dedicated to the Marvel Cinematic Universe appears in libraries. Titled MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, it contains tons of anecdotes from casting, filming, etc. But also analyzes from cinema professionals, which show how the franchise has shaken up the Hollywood landscape in less than two decades. Vanity Fair relays several extracts from this work. We share one below.
The authors of this reference work, Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales and Gavin Edwards, met the main protagonists behind the making ofAvengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther, Captain Marvel And the others. Among them, Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz, two screenwriters from TV (before that they were known for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), recount the making of the first Thorof Kenneth Branaghin 2011.
Chris Hemsworth: “With Thor, we could create something new”
“Marvel was looking for TV writers because they were fast, Miller explains first. More specifically, they wanted a team of screenwriters who would write even faster than average. With any luck, they would be knowledgeable in science fiction and comics, and with much, much luck, they would be well versed in Thor. I think we ticked all those boxes.”
The duo then reveals that Kevin Feige had the idea of choosing a director very far from superhero films for this film, Kenneth Branagh. Until now best known for his adaptations of the works of William Shakespeare (notably A lot of noise for nothing, in 1993), the English director signed on for this story precisely because it dealt with the major themes of the classic author. Notably the rivalry between the two brothers, Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston). On the other hand, he didn’t know much about comics, and this gave rise to surreal conversations, say the two screenwriters.
Mjölnir in Avengers, 2012.
“One of my most vivid memories is from a notes session (remarks given by the director or the production to clarify certain points of the film, editor’s note), says Stentz. Branagh explained that he didn’t like the name Mjölnir, because he found it difficult to pronounce. He turned to us to ask: ‘Do we really have to call the hammer that? I saw that it was made with a metal, the‘Uru’. Couldn’t we call him Uru instead? Or are the Thor fans going to kill me?’ Kevin Feige then gave him one of his famous half-smiles: ‘Ken, the fans are going to gut you.’ ‘Okay, we’re not going to do it then.’“
And this is how Mjölnir, the powerful hammer of the God of Lightning, finally retained its name!
Mjölnir in Thor: Ragnarok, in 2017.
Since the first Thor, Mjölnir has become one of the flagship elements of the MCU, an object endowed with significant powers which has in turn been crucial to the intrigues or chosen to make good jokes (notably with Steve Rogers/Captain America under the direction of Joss Whedon). Then he was destroyed by Hela (in Thor Ragnarokby Taika Waititi, in 2017) before being rebuilt for Avengers following made by the Russo brothers.
Inseparable from the character of Thor, he was even at the heart of several promotional elements for the films. Last year, to celebrate the return of the superhero and his friend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) in love and thunderit is thus Mjölnir who was in the spotlight of the first teaser:
Mjolnir is the star of the very first clip of Thor: Love and Thunder
