It is one of those Hollywood "what ifs" that keeps people up at night. You know the ones. What if Will Smith had been Neo in The Matrix? Or if John Travolta hadn't passed on Forrest Gump? But the one that really gets Marvel fans talking—especially lately—is the weird, overlapping history of Thor and Brad Pitt.
Most people think of Chris Hemsworth when they see that hammer. Honestly, it’s hard not to. The guy basically is the God of Thunder at this point. But if you rewind the clock to the late 2000s, the casting couch at Marvel Studios looked a lot different.
Did Brad Pitt actually almost play Thor?
The short answer? Kinda.
Back around 2010, when Kevin Feige and the team were trying to figure out how to make a guy with a cape and a magic mallet look cool to a modern audience, they were looking for "Star Power" with a capital S. Rumors have swirled for years that Pitt’s name was tossed around in those early, smoke-filled rooms (okay, probably green-juice-filled rooms).
He had the look. If you’ve seen Troy, you know Pitt can do the long-haired, golden-warrior thing better than almost anyone. In fact, his performance as Achilles is often cited as the unofficial "audition" that showed Hollywood a big-screen version of a mythological hero could actually work.
But Marvel was famously "cheap" in the early days. They wanted someone they could lock into a nine-movie contract for a couple hundred grand. Brad Pitt? Yeah, he costs a bit more than a couple hundred grand. Ultimately, they went with a then-unknown Australian soap star named Chris Hemsworth. It worked out.
The weird connection between the two stars
Here is where it gets interesting. Chris Hemsworth isn't just the guy who got the job Pitt didn't; he's actually a massive Brad Pitt fanboy.
Hemsworth has gone on record multiple times saying that Pitt was one of his biggest inspirations. Specifically, he and his brothers used to watch Legends of the Fall on a loop. He once told Vanity Fair that there has "never been a more beautiful man on-screen" than Brad Pitt in that movie.
They finally met at an after-party for Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. Hemsworth describes it as a total "starstruck" moment. He went in for a hug while Pitt went for a handshake. Awkward? Maybe a little. But Hemsworth says Pitt was "as wonderful and pleasant" as he’d hoped.
The "Vanisher" Cameo and the Thor: Ragnarok Parallel
Even though Pitt never played Thor, he did eventually sneak into the Marvel orbit.
Remember the Vanisher in Deadpool 2? That invisible guy who gets electrocuted and dies in like three seconds? That was Brad Pitt. He did it for a cup of coffee. Literally. He told Ryan Reynolds he’d do the cameo if Reynolds hand-delivered a Starbucks coffee to him on set.
🔗 Read more: Has Chuck Norris Passed Away? What Most People Get Wrong
This mirrors one of the coolest parts of the Thor franchise: the "actor cameos." In Thor: Ragnarok, Matt Damon plays an actor playing Loki. Luke Hemsworth (Chris’s brother) plays an actor playing Thor.
Why a Thor and Brad Pitt project is trending in 2026
If you’ve been on social media lately, you’ve probably seen those hyper-realistic trailers for Troy 2 or a "Thor Variant" movie starring Brad Pitt.
Let’s be real: most of those are AI-generated concepts. There is no official Troy sequel in the works with Hemsworth and Pitt as rival generals (though, honestly, who wouldn't watch that?).
However, the reason people are obsessed with this pairing is the current "Legacy" trend in Hollywood. With the Multiverse being a thing, fans are holding out hope that Pitt might actually show up as an older, grittier version of Thor from another timeline.
What we actually know about their future projects
While they aren't swinging hammers together yet, both actors are busy with high-brow projects:
- Brad Pitt is currently gearing up for The Riders, an A24 adaptation directed by Edward Berger (the guy behind All Quiet on the Western Front). It’s filming across Europe in early 2026.
- Chris Hemsworth is leaning away from the "pretty boy" roles, much like Pitt did in the mid-2000s, following his villainous turn in Furiosa.
How to spot the fake rumors
Don't get fooled by the "leak" culture. If you see a poster for a Thor and Brad Pitt movie, check the source. If it’s from a YouTube channel with "Concept" or "Teaser" in the title and the voices sound a little bit like robots, it’s fake.
What is real is the mutual respect between the two. In an industry where everyone is trying to out-ego each other, seeing the current God of Thunder admit he grew up wanting to be the guy from Fight Club is pretty refreshing.
Actionable insights for fans
- Watch 'Troy' and 'Thor: Ragnarok' back-to-back. It’s the best way to see how the "mythological hero" archetype evolved from Pitt’s gritty realism to Hemsworth’s comedic charm.
- Follow Edward Berger’s 'The Riders' news. If you want to see Pitt’s next actual performance (instead of an AI deepfake), this is the one to watch.
- Don't rule out a Marvel cameo. Given how much the MCU loves fan service, a Pitt-Hemsworth interaction in a future Avengers or Thor flick isn't entirely impossible—it just probably won't be a lead role.
The fascination with these two isn't going away. Whether it's the "what could have been" or the hope for a future team-up, the DNA of the modern action hero was written by Pitt and perfected by Hemsworth.
To stay ahead of actual casting news, you can set up a Google Alert for "Brad Pitt A24" or "Chris Hemsworth upcoming projects" to filter out the fan-made noise.