Zachary Levi recently opened up about his experience working in the MCU, discussing his role of Fandral, his exit during the production of Thor, and his return in Thor: The Dark World. The actor portrayed the member of the Warriors Three and one of Thor's closest allies in the 2013 sequel, before returning briefly in Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok. Since leaving the MCU, Levi has joined DC as Billy Batson's alter ego in the 2019 superhero movie, Shazam!, and will return for Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

Levi joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as part of its Asgardian Ensemble during Thor: The Dark World, playing Fandral of the Warriors Three, as he aided Chris Hemsworth's titular god of thunder against the villainous Dark Elves ruler, Malekith. Alongside the rest of the Warriors Three and Jaime Alexander's Lady Sif, who is set to return in Thor: Love and Thunder, Fandral helped Thor, Loki, and Jane Foster escape Asgard in an attempt to destroy the Aether, later revealed to be the Reality Stone. The character was then not seen until 2018's Thor: Ragnarok, where he was quickly killed by Hela upon her return to Asgard.

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As reported by The Direct, Levi opened up about his time working in the MCU during a panel at Dragon Con 2021. The actor discussed his excitement at taking up the role due to him being a fan of Marvel Comics as a child, as well as having the opportunity to play a potentially fun and interesting character and having Kenneth Branagh believe in him enough to cast him. He then expressed disappointment at Fandral's reduced role in the 2013 and 2018 sequels, as well as his few lines in Thor: Ragnarok being cut from the final release. Read what Levi said below:

“Working on Thor was also a dream come true. I grew up devouring Marvel Comics books. I was definitely a Marvel kid as a comic book reader… So it was cool. I was very grateful that I got to be a part of that. I got to be in the Marvel Universe and play a really kinda fun, interesting, different kinda character, and that ultimately Kenneth Branagh believed in me enough to cast me in the first one… that’s very cool. [...] I also didn’t have that much to do, ya know? And really, nothing to do in the third one… I knew I was going to die in the third one. I didn’t know I was going to die, having said nothing. Even the few words they gave me were going to be taken away.”

Levi has previously been a big supporter of the Warriors Three, hoping to explore them fully alongside Thor during his initial trilogy of films. The actor has had an interesting and tumultuous experience with the role, as he was originally cast as Fandral for 2011's Thor, but had to leave due to scheduling issues due to filming the series Chuck, with Josh Dallas taking up the role. Despite this, Levi was able to return to the role when Dallas himself had to leave the role during the production of Thor: The Dark World due to commitments to filming Once Upon a Time. Levi carried on in the role, returning for his brief appearance in Thor: Ragnarok.

Levi's disappointment with how Fandral and the rest of the Warriors Three were handled following Thor is understandable. Despite Feige previously explaining the reasoning behind their fates as "noble ends" that established the threat Hela posed, they were underutilized characters long before that. As some of Thor's closest allies, it would not have been difficult to imagine them aiding the hero during Thor: The Dark World's climax, or perhaps being part of Heimdall's resistance in Thor: Ragnarok and later New Asgard during Avengers: Endgame. With previous stories being revisited with new twists in What If...? and the multiverse expanding due to the events of Loki, it is possible that this trio may yet see the sun shine on them again.

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Source: The Direct

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