Chris Hemsworth eyes the end of his time playing Thor
The Marvel star says that his next time playing the God of Thunder could be his last
Aux News Chris Hemsworth
Thor may be the only one of the original six Avengers to get more than three solo movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but don’t expect Chris Hemsworth’s reign as the God of Thunder to last too much longer. In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the Australian actor emphasizes that while his most famous role has plenty of potential to continue, it also has an inevitable conclusion.
“I’m completely open to [returning], if there is something unique and fresh and unexpected to do with the character and the world,” he tells the magazine. “I’ve always loved the experience. I’ve been very thankful I’ve been able to do something different each time.”
Hemsworth has been playing the role since 2011's Thor. Thor: Ragnarok reinvigorated the character in 2017 by bringing in Taika Waititi’s comedic stylings, and the New Zealand-born director followed it up with this year’s Thor: Love And Thunder. The fourth installment in the Asgardian god’s story left the door open for more, but also set up passing the baton to another hero in the future.
“I feel like we’d probably have to close the book if I ever did it again, you know what I mean?” Hemsworth says. “I feel like it probably warrants that. I feel like it’d probably be the finale, but that’s not based on anything anyone’s told me or any sort of plans. You have this birth of a hero, the journey of a hero, then the death of a hero, and I don’t know—am I at that stage? Who knows?”
Outside of the MCU, Hemsworth has pursued other action roles like Men In Black: International and Extraction, as well as receiving acclaim for the 2013 Formula One biopic Rush. While he recently filmed the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa, the Bad Times At The El Royale actor says that he wants to continue pursuing a wider variety of projects.
“I like the intimacy of a smaller, more grounded piece,” Hemsworth tells Vanity Fair, adding that he wants to make a romantic drama. “I like the fact that I’m not learning fight choreography or wearing a heavy costume which is uncomfortable and making me want to pull my hair out. But I’ve also been very lucky, like in Furiosa, to have a very intimate character storyline in amongst a bigger setting.”
25 Comments
I just noticed… Chris Hemsworth, a conventionally masculine and handsome Australian being directed by the very quirky Kiwi Taika Waititi.I believe this is worthy of a humorous comment from Flight of the Conchords, especially given their relationship with Waititi.
We need to hear from Murray.
BAND MEETING
didn’t he give an interview like 3 months ago where he said he wanted to play thor longer than any other actor has ever played a superhero?
literally 3 months ago haha
Maybe he changed his mind since he recently found he’s got a strong indication for Alzheimer.https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/17/entertainment/chris-hemsworth-limitless/index.html
I just read an article this morning that while filming a new episode of the National Geographic show he does for Disney+ he unexpectedly found out that he has a strong genetic predisposition for getting Alzheimer’s disease. Shit like that tends to change your outlook on things.
He must have forgot he said it./rimshot
I was going to make a joke about how that was before he saw the train-wreck that was “Love and Thunder”, but the math didn’t add up.
It’s dumb to judge a movie by a single seen out of context, but someone posted the last scene of Love and Thunder on Twitter and it produced an involuntary bodily reflex (and not one of the ones you’d want).
What Cousin Olivier said. And that as a result he announced that he wants to take a break from acting for a while, spend time with his family, and think about how he wants to handle this. To be fair to you, it’s not your fault that the AV Club as usual didn’t go into or care to mention this important major detail.
frankly i’m also disappointed chris didn’t contact me directly
He’s got a lot of people to call. He told me to let you know he’ll get to you in due time.
Well, the unenthusiastic reactions to Love and Thunder hadn’t really hit yet, at that point. Looking back at it now probably feels far different. The movie is kind of, you know, very much not good. When it hit, it didn’t get terrible reviews – I believe it was around 70% on RT – and people including myself were inclined to give it a fair shake due to the hilarity of Thor Ragnarok. With the benefit of hindsight it became clearer how weak and sort of laughable the movie is. Waititi was really phoning it in.
I’ve also seen him talk about how much harder it was this last time to get in shape for the role, so even though he might still be enjoying it, he might also be acknowledging there’s a natural end for him in this role, and that it’s probably sooner than later.And right afterward, when excitement is high and there’s that fun afterglow, I can see him saying he’s on board for lots more. Three months later, when that’s all worn off and he’s able to think a little deeper on it, I can see him saying, “Hmm… Maybe not.”
“Remember A View To A Kill? That’s how long I want to play Thor!”
My guess is he’ll be around for 3 more. He’ll obviously be appearing in Avengers: Secret Wars and most likely Kang Dynasty, although I could maybe see that one being a smaller team. They could go the reverse of Infinity War/Endgame for that pair where Kang is a smaller, core, next generation team and Secret Wars is the all hands on deck movie.Then I kind of doubt they end Thor’s character arc in an Avengers movie, so my guess is one more solo film to bring things to a close. Tony’s entire arc was built around the Avengers and specifically the threat of Thanos so it was a natural conclusion to wrap him up there. Likewise Natasha’s identity was built into being an Avenger with her goals to right the wrongs of her past so even though I think her death was stupid and the symptom of the Infinity War writers putting themselves in a corner RE the Soul Gem her death in the line of duty as an Avenger makes sense. Thor, while an important member of the Avengers, has always had an identity outside of that role and it makes less sense to me to wrap his character in a big team up movie.So yeah, my guess is Kang Dynasty, Secret Wars, Thor 5. Secret Wars is out in 5/26 so the earliest Thor 5 could be is maybe 2/27 which puts Hemsworth’s portrayal at 16 years. The idea of playing the character longer than any other superhero portrayal was made a lot harder with the announcement of Hugh Jackman’s return.
I half expect him to show up in Deadpool.
“I’ve always loved the experience. I’ve been very thankful I’ve been able to do something different each time,” Hemsworth said while swimming across the surface of his Scrooge McDuck-like vault of gold coins.
Outside of the MCU, Hemsworth has pursued other action roles like Men In Black: International and Extraction, as well as receiving acclaim for the 2013 Formula One biopic Rush. While he recently filmed the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa, the Bad Times At The El Royale actor says that he wants to continue pursuing a wider variety of projects. Once again, 2015’s Blackhat is criminally overlooked.
I really must get around to rewatching that one. I remember digging the hell out of it at the time.
Oh, c’mon Chris, Love & Thunder wasn’t that bad…Ok, it kind of was. But not because of you!!!
What was it then?
I thought he was taking time off acting because he found out he’s genetically predisposed to alzheimer’s
I’m just hoping in a few years he can take the route of James Van Der Beek, Matt LeBlanc, and Jean-Claude Van Damme before him and play an outrageous parody of himself on TV or independent film.