Chris Hemsworth’s Thor faced an excruciating defeat at the hands of Thanos aboard the Statesman during the initial moments of Avengers: Infinity War. He is found by the Guardians, who nurse him back to health. They both have the common goal of taking down Thanos. Thor wants a powerful weapon since Hela destroyed his earlier weapon, Mjölnir.

Thor sets out to Nidavellir with Rocket and Groot to get himself a new weapon and Eitri the Dwarf helps them to create Stormbreaker. However, the initial plan for Thor’s quest was very different from the movie’s storyline. The planned storyline was abandoned because it involved scenes that could have earned the movie an R-rating.

Chris Hemsworth’s Thor Initially Had A Possible R-rated Scene In Avengers: Infinity War

Eleni Roussos’s 2019 book Avengers: Endgame – The Art of the Movie shared artworks that never saw the light of day in the two-part Infinity Saga movies. In one of the artworks from Avengers: Infinity War, Chris Hemsworth‘s Thor, Rocket, and Groot were seen battling several serpents.

Instead of meeting Eitri in Nidavellir to forge Stormbreaker, Thor and the gang set out on an Indiana Jones-like mission to wield Stormbreaker. In this version, their quest takes them to the realm of Jormungand. The realm contained the skeletal remains of a giant snake known as the World Serpent. Stormbreaker was buried deep within the skull of the giant snake.

Marvel’s Senior Visual Development Artist, Rodney Fuentebella, had one hell of an alternate sequence to tell Roussos. Fuentebella explained that their sequence involved finding Stormbreaker rather than forging it. The artist explained that Thor’s ancestors used it to destroy the World Serpent.

Thor’s quest is made challenging as an army of the children of the World Serpent attacks them. The trio had to battle them to fight their way out of the realm with Stormbreaker. Fuentebella shared that they had planned the whole action set piece but it never made it to Avengers: Infinity War. The visual artist shared (via Avengers: Endgame – The Art of the Movie):

This was going to be the introduction of Stormbreaker. It was forged way back when, and one of Thor’s ancestors had wielded it to destroy the World Serpent… We wanted to create something that was interesting and different but still feel like you could tell that it’s buried in something.

There was also an idea of how after they got Stormbreaker, as they were escaping, the children of the World Serpents would attack them, and they would have to fight their way out.

It was possible that the involvement of “children” made some of the Marvel executives uncomfortable. They would’ve feared an R-rating for a film that was aimed at audiences of all age groups. Even though the children in this context couldn’t possibly be human children, Marvel took no risk and abandoned the plan.

The History of the World Serpent And Stormbreaker In Marvel Comics

The World Serpent is a Norse mythology-based creature that first appeared in Marvel Comics as The Midgard Serpent in Marvel Tales #105 in 1952. The serpent first appeared in Thor #127, acting as the nemesis of the Thunder God, and later appeared in several Thor comics. The World Serpent also appeared in The Avengers Vol. 3 #1.

Stormbreaker is also a weapon that has been in the comics since 1983. In the comics, it never belonged to Thor in the first place. The weapon was forged by Odin and wielded by the alien Beta Ray Bill, who was the first non-Asgardian to lift the Mjölnir. The latter character makes an appearance as a sculpture in Thor: Ragnarok, appearing on the Grandmaster’s tower of champions.

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