As seen in the above tweet from photographer Jasin Boland, Taika Waititi had quite the rig when filming Korg scenes for the “Thor” films. Korg has existed in Marvel’s comics for decades (the character made his debut back in the ’60s), but it’s “Ragnarok” that made him a fan favorite. In a 2017 interview with Cartoon Brew, “Ragnarok” visual effects supervisor Jake Morrison revealed that Waititi’s interpretation of the character was based on Polynesian nightclub bouncers, whose tall, intimidating statures are rendered null thanks to their soft-spoken demeanors. Because Korg was so relatable to Waititi, it made sense for him to play the gentle giant.
A lot of what audiences see on screen with Korg is Waititi riffing, which proved to be a substantial challenge for the folks who brought Korg to life. “You can’t just slow everything down to allow that extra movement on set,” Morrison told Cartoon Brew, adding that Waititi’s softer movements had to appear larger on screen due to Korg’s body. Raphael A. Pimentel, animation supervisor at Luma Pictures, said in the same article that Waititi’s motion capture performance was authentically replicated to create Korg. “By focusing first on Taika’s performance, animators were able to study subtleties unique to him and essentially extract what would be the essence of Korg throughout the film,” Pimentel said.
The hard work definitely paid off, as Korg remains one of the most memorable characters from the “Thor” franchise. “It’s comedy,” Morrison said. “And if they’re taken out of the character for just a second and you look at it and you think, ‘Oh, it’s just a cg character,’ then you’ve lost that laugh.”
