Chris Hemsworth's Furiosa Villain Is What He Needs More Of After Thor's MCU Return

Chris Hemsworth’s time with the Marvel Cinematic Universe is coming to an end, and it is time to consider what might be next for the man who plays Thor. Of the MCU cast, he is one who almost perfectly replicates what Thor is like in the comics, at least appearance-wise. Thanks to negative reviews of his earlier Shakespearean-themed Thor movies, he became more comedic over time, and Hemsworth has been able to showcase his comic chops since then.

While Hemsworth is very funny, as proven in movies like Ghostbusters, where he is allowed to play up to his muscle-headed persona, he has also proven that he can play the villain, although that has been in very small doses up to this point. That said, if Hemsworth really wants to give it a try, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga proved that he could be perfect as a villain, and he could even keep his comedic leanings when doing it.

In Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Hemsworth plays the main villain of the movie, a deranged warlord named Dementus. It is his Biker Horde that kidnaps Furiosa before he ends up as the ruler of Gastown. There are plenty of villains in the movie, including Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), but Hemsworth steals almost every scene he is in as the over-the-top, deadly villain, and it is a character type he can succeed with in the future.

Chris Hemsworth’s Furiosa Role Is One Of His Best Performances

Chris Hemsworth as Dementus in Furiosa A Mad Max Saga

Chris Hemsworth will always be best known for playing Thor in the MCU, but his performance in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was so good that it actually made his performance as Thor look less impressive by comparison. One thing to note is that Hemsworth would always be compared to Thor from Marvel Comics, so this role was never going to belong to him, and he only adapted what was already there from before.

This doesn’t happen with Dementus, who is an original character for the Mad Max franchise. This gives Hemsworth his first chance to play the primary antagonist in a movie, as he is the warlord who leads the Biker Horde, and he acquired a young Furiosa and raised her in captivity. He is an evil man who does bad things to people and deserves all the punishment he receives in the end.

There is a depth to Dementus, who wants to overthrow the tyrannical Immortan Joe to help lead his people to prosperity, and in this apocalyptic wasteland, that means doing bad things. However, he steps over the line more than once, and Hemsworth relishes the chance to deliver his dialogue in this movie, which is both over-the-top and often bordering on stupidity, allowing him to steal every scene he appears in.

Furiosa Deserved Better At The Box Office

Anya Taylor-Joy's Furiosa in Furiosa A Mad Max Saga — Anya Taylor-Joy’s Furiosa in Furiosa A Mad Max Saga

Sadly, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga flopped at the box office, which killed any chance of the franchise getting a new release anytime soon. The movie actually made a nice box office total of $174.4 million, but it ended up losing money because of its high budget, which was $168 million. The movie only made $67.4 million domestically, roughly 40% of its budget, and the international take wasn’t enough to help it make any money.

The movie deserved so much more, but it also shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Mad Max: Fury Road was a massive critical success, earning 10 Oscar nominations and winning six of them. It also had a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score, and it made an impressive $380.4 million worldwide. However, only $154.2 million of that came domestically, and with a $150 million budget, it was considered a disappointing take.

The Mad Max franchise is one that audiences love, but it isn’t one that can succeed on the size of budget that George Miller needs to pull off his stories. No matter how great the action is, and even with great performances by actors like Hemsworth, the franchise can’t seem to hit it big at the box office, especially in North America.

Chris Hemsworth Should Play More Villains

Chris Hemsworth as Dementus looking up in Furiosa

Chris Hemsworth’s impressive performance as Dementus proves that he could have a future playing villains when his time as Thor comes to a close in the MCU. He will appear in Avengers: Doomsday, and he should also return for Avengers: Secret Wars. There are also rumors of one more solo movie after that, but his time is almost over as the God of Thunder.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga proved that Hemsworth could play an over-the-top villain, and it isn’t the only good example of this. In 2018, Hemsworth appeared in the criminally underrated crime thriller Bad Times at the El Royale, where he played cult leader Billy Lee, and this was a great chance to show he could play the laid-back, slick villain as well. He also recently played a jewel thief in Crime 101, although that was more of a morally gray character.

Chris Hemsworth will have his pick of roles when he leaves the MCU. While the best bet is a non-stop flurry of action movie roles, he can find more success if he goes to the dark side for his future movies.