Credit: Marvel StudiosChris Hemsworth is one of the few remaining original Marvel Cinematic Universe players, but it seems that even Thor is ready for new things.
The Australian actor has been playing the Norse God of Thunder since 2011 and has gone from performing a comparatively wooden, faux-Shakespearian character to one of the most beloved, goofiest MCU heroes, epitomized by Thor: Ragnarok (2017). But reports are indicating that Chris Hemsworth is ready to expand past his Marvel role and begin some franchises of his own.
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Giant Freakin Robot has reported that Chris Hemsworth has been cast in an upcoming animated adaptation of Nintendo’s long-running and beloved Star Fox video game series. Naturally, Hemsworth will be voicing the lead character of Fox McCloud, the anthropomorphic fox leader of the Star Fox team.
For decades, Nintendo has been hesitant to license its iconic video game properties for film adaptations, reportedly spooked by the legendarily awful Super Mario Bros. (1993), which starred Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo and bombed hard at the box office.
However, Nintendo finally gave in and worked with Illumination to produce The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which was a critical smash and grossed well over a billion dollars worldwide. Now that Nintendo has seen proof positive that there is an audience out there for films based on its games, it is not surprising that it is ready to adapt other franchises.
Like Super Mario and Donkey Kong, the Star Fox games are the brainchild of legendary video game creator Shigeru Miyamoto, along with contributions from Katsuya Eguchi, Takaya Imamura, and Hajime Hirasawa. The railshooter game puts players into the POV of Fox McCloud and the Star Fox team as they defend their home planet from a variety of alien invaders, but most often the simian mad scientist Andross.
Since the first Super Nintendo game in 1993, Star Fox has received numerous sequels, spin-offs, and multimedia appearances. Notably, Fox McCloud and his team of Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, and Falco Lombardi have appeared in the Super Smash Bros series of games, as well as a short anime video produced by Shigeru Miyamoto.
Credit: Nintendo
However, the upcoming Illumination project will be the first full-length film to feature the characters, so it’s anyone’s guess exactly how the studio (monitored closely by Nintendo, no doubt) will adapt the expansive lore of the franchise.
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Notably, The Super Mario Bros. Movie featured Chris Pratt, Star-Lord himself, as the lead character, so it seems as though Illumination and Nintendo are trying to develop a template for their movie adaptations.
Snagging Chris Hemsworth from Marvel for Star Fox is a pretty good step, so we’ll be curious to see what’s next. Chris Evans as the voice of Kirby? Robert Downey Jr as Captain Falcon? We’re up for it.
Which Marvel star do you want to see defect to Nintendo next? Let us know in the comments below!