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Why Russell Crowe Shot All His Thor: Love & Thunder Scenes Twice
Warning! Spoilers below for Thor: Love and Thunder.
Taika Waititi explains why Russell Crowe had to shoot all of his Zeus scenes twice in Thor: Love and Thunder. After the success of 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, Waititi returned to direct Chris Hemsworth's fourth standalone Thor film. Thor: Love and Thunder follows the character as he teams up with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Waititi), and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), aka Mighty Thor, to defeat a new villain in the form of Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher. Although a hit at the box office, Thor: Love and Thunder has proven divisive amongst fans and critics.
As word reaches New Asgard that Gorr is traversing the galaxy, killing all the gods he can find, Thor, Valkyrie, Korg, and Mighty Thor put a plan into action to go to Omnipotence City and gather a force to defeat the villain. As the home of many of the universe's most mighty gods, Thor hopes that Omnipotence City will back their fight against Gorr, but Crowe's Zeus shoots down the idea. Boasting an arrogant attitude and an exaggerated Greek accent, Thor: Love and Thunder's Zeus is a significant departure from what many fans might have expected after the character was first teased in the film's trailers.
In a new interview with Insider, Waititi reveals that Crowe had to shoot all of his Thor: Love and Thunder scenes twice, explaining that he was hesitant about the actor's Greek accent being "too silly." Waititi says that he originally wanted the character to speak with a British accent, but with Crowe adamant that Greek was the way to go, the decision was made to shoot it both ways and then decide later. Ultimately, Waititi agreed that the Greek accent was the right choice. Check out the director's full comment below:
Quote:
"We actually talked at length about the accent. We wondered if someone did a Greek accent of a Greek god, is it going to be a farce? Will it be too silly? And Russell was very much wanting it to be Greek. But I wasn't sure, so we ended up doing two versions of every take with Russell. One in a Greek accent and then another in a British accent. Because I felt people would think Zeus would sound British like Laurence Olivier in "Clash of the Titans.”
But then I realized in post that it's actually more offensive to the Greeks to have Zeus sound like he's British. And test audiences loved the Greek accent. I'm really happy with it. But, yeah, he had to do every take once in the Greek accent and once with a British accent because I couldn't make up my mind. But Russell was right all along."
Although it's now hard to imagine Crowe's Zeus sounding any different in Thor: Love and Thunder, the iconic god has been depicted in the past with a British accent in more films than just Clash of the Titans. Actor Sean Bean played Zeus in Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief and used his natural British accent, and so did Luke Evans in Immortals. Reception to Crowe's accent has certainly been mixed, but the choice is bold and does, in many ways, suit the more comedic tone of the film.
Considering the size, scope, and budget of the average MCU movie, many fans would assume that creators would plan every little detail ahead of time. Waititi's comment, in conjunction with the fact that many of the superhero suits in films like Avengers: Endgame and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are finalized after shooting has already wrapped, suggests that finding the best option in post-production is relatively commonplace. The process ultimately worked, however, with Crowe's accent being a highlight of Thor: Love and Thunder.
