LogInThe game's creators spoke about sources of inspiration for creating the Æsir god of thunder's image in the game.
In a recent interview with Variety, God of War Ragnarök's narrative director Matt Sophos, art director Raf Grassetti and actor Ryan Hurst who voiced Thor in the game spoke about the image of the Æsir god of thunder, revealed what was the source of inspiration for creating the character, and shared how the studio's approach to creating Norse gods differed from designing Greek gods from the previous parts of the franchise.
According to Sophos, Santa Monica wanted to depict the Norse gods more in a way they were presented in Scandinavian folklore rather than making lightweight portrayals in the vein of the MCU.
For instance, as Hurst recalls, when the studio pitched the story to him, they brought up the tale of Thor's two goats which tells of the time when the god of thunder allowed a peasant family to eat his goats as he could resurrect them from their bones. However, when one of the peasant's kids broke a goat's bone, the resurrected goat came with a lame hind leg, which is why Thor got enraged and took away both children and made them his servants forever.
Hurst also shared that he took inspiration for Thor's voice from Tommy Lee Jones's character from No Country for Old Men as "he was a powerful being that harbored forms of regret that manifested in his voice." In addition, Thor's image in the game was, surprisingly, inspired by Marvel's character Hulk.
"There’s some of that, that comes in through the saying, 'Hulk Smash,' but in a more layered way." Hurst said. "The way that I interpreted it is that you need access to superhuman amounts of strength, rage, and unpredictability."
In addition, the game creators spoke about the difference between designing Greek and Norse gods saying that the latter ones have to be not as showy as the former ones but, at the same time, they still needed to be massive and mighty.
"When we’re designing these gods, and knowing where we’re going with the franchise being a lot more down to earth, these gods just live with mortals. But they still need to look like gods," Grassetti said.
You can learn more about creating Thor and other gods' images in God of War Ragnarök by reading the full interview with the game's creators here.
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