Disney is eyeing Marvel star Chris Hemsworth for its live-action Prince Charming film. It was recently announced that Paddington director Paul King signed on to direct a film based on the Prince Charming character, who is something of a stock character among various Disney princes but is most commonly associated with Cinderella. Given the name Prince Charming, it certainly puts a lot of pressure on Disney to find the right actor to live up to that title, and the studio is pulling from its stable of Marvel stars to take on the role.
Deadline reports that Chris Hemsworth is in talks to play Prince Charming in the upcoming film. Hemsworth is best known for his portrayal of Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with 2011’s Thor and most recently in 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder. No deal has been made yet, but if Hemsworth were to take the role, he would be the third in the original Avengers lineup to reimagine a classic Disney character, as Scarlett Johansson voiced Kaa in 2016’s Jungle Book, and Chris Evans voiced Buzz Lightyear in Pixar’s Lightyear.
Joining Prince Charming would certainly be a nice turnaround for Hemsworth, who has had a rough 2024 so far. He starred as the villain Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and voiced Orion Pax/Optimus Prime in Transformers One. Despite both films earning critical acclaim, neither became a hit at the box office. Hemsworth is expected to reprise his role as Thor in an upcoming MCU film, either an unannounced Thor 5 or Avengers: Doomsday, but nothing has been confirmed. He is also seemingly staying in the world of Transformers, as Hemsworth is rumored to be the lead in the upcoming Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover film.
Chris Hemsworth’s Career Has Taken Some Wild Swings
Hemsworth has certainly had an interesting career. Before he was cast as Thor, he was best known for the small but pivotal role of George Kirk in J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek. Following Thor’s release, both Cabin in the Woods and Red Dawn – films that Hemsworth made prior to being cast as Thor and that got held up by MGM’s bankruptcy – finally hit theaters. Hemsworth tried to go down the path of a traditional movie star, working with big-name directors in mid-budget films, hoping that his star power could sell audiences, but movies like Michael Mann’s Blackhat, Ron Howard’s Rush, and In the Heart of the Sea all disappointed at the box office.
Hemsworth has also tried his hand at comedies in franchise movies like Vacation, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, and Men in Black International, all of which failed to connect with audiences. Hemsworth is a great example of a big-name star people know and like, but he doesn’t draw audiences out to see a movie like Tom Cruise or Will Smith did in the 1990s or 2000s.
Related Chris Hemsworth Found ‘Perverse Joy’ in Leaving MCU Behind to Play Furiosa Villain
Chris Hemsworth reveled in the opportunity to play a villain in George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
On the surface, everything about Prince Charming sounds like it shouldn’t work: it’s a live-action Disney reimagining of a character who is so nondescript that his name is used as a placeholder title to describe not just the Prince from Cinderella but also the ones from Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. But director Paul King has already turned a similarly bad idea on paper into a smash hit with Wonka, so he certainly has earned the benefit of the doubt. And given Hemsworth’s comedic talents, we might be in for a delightful surprise.
Disney’s
Prince Charming
does not currently have a release date.
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