Taika Waititi said that Korg was only supposed to appear in one or two scenes in "Thor: Ragnarok."- The director said
Chris Hemsworth suggested that he include him in more scenes.
"Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi revealed that Chris Hemsworth came up with the idea to extend the fan-favorite character Korg's screen time in the 2017 Marvel
"I just started reading scenes with Chris to see how they played for him, and [Korg] was only in one or two scenes," Waititi said in a new behind-the-scenes book called "The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe" by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry.
Korg, voiced by Waititi, was first introduced to the MCU when Thor encountered the Kronan warrior on the planet Sakaar in "Ragnarok."
The director said that the evolution of Korg was unplanned and happened while working with Hemsworth approximately two or three months before principal photography began on the film.
"I started messing around as a joke, giving Korg different voices and giving other characters different voices," Waititi said. "I played with Korg's voice, which is a very colloquial New Zealand accent, a very rural accent, and Chris cracked up at that. Then we riffed on that a little bit more and Chris was like, 'You should play that. It'd be really funny.'"
Waititi, who knew Hemsworth prior to signing on as the director of "Ragnarok," said that he took the Thor actor's advice and ran with it.
"We were having so much fun with that character, and then Chris said, 'We should do more. Find more scenes to put him in,'" Waititi said. "I guess, because we were in Australia - and they couldn't really find us or control us - we were able to just start shoving Korg in here and there. And now he becomes this ridiculously prominent character."
Waititi also said that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige was particularly encouraging of his creativity.
"All of Korg's stuff was pretty much ad-libbed on the day," he said. "And a lot of it was just stuff to kind of loosen us up."
Korg appeared throughout "Ragnarok" and returned in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame." Waititi will reprise the role for the upcoming fourth "Thor" film called "Thor: Love and Thunder," which he's also directing.
In an Instagram live video as part of a "Ragnarok" watch party in April 2020, Waititi said that fans will learn more about Korg's culture and where he came from in the new movie.
"Thor: Love and Thunder" is currently set for release on July 8, 2022.