Avengers 4 marks the end of Chris Hemsworth's original contract with Marvel, which saw the actor portray the iconic God of Thunder for seven years. During that span, he's reprised the role of Thor for a number of Marvel projects, including his most recent solo film
Thor: Ragnarok. Now, having wrapped filming on Joe and Anthony Russo's
Avengers: Infinity War and its untitled follow-up
Avengers 4, the future of Hemsworth playing the "strongest Avenger" on the big screen remains in question.
Speaking to IGN while promoting his upcoming movie
12 Strong, Hemsworth revealed that he would love to continue playing
Thor in future Marvel films, though that wasn't always the case.
"I’ve just, literally two days ago, finished Avengers 4 and that’s my contract -- my preexisting contract is done now, so it’s kind of like, 'wow, that’s it,'" Hemsworth said. "Two or three films ago I was like, 'okay, a couple more.' I was enjoying it but I was like... I felt a little restricted. And after this last experience with Taika, and actually these last two Avengers, I feel like we’ve reinvented the character a number of times -- even in these next two, he evolves again, and you don’t get that opportunity often in a franchise. So I definitely feel a renewed sense of excitement and enthusiasm, and more so than ever, I think."
For now, though, Hemsworth is focused on the upcoming showdown with Thanos, which begins with Infinity War on May 4, 2019, and seemingly concludes with Avengers 4 a year later. Marvel fans are well aware that the clash with Thanos could result in some longtime fan-favorite Avengers dying - probably the ones with expiring contracts. Of course, contracts can be renewed and with the success of Thor: Ragnarok, it's hard to imagine Disney and Marvel saying goodbye to Hemsworth after revitalizing the standalone Thor films.
Although Hemsworth pointed out that "right now, it's about Avengers and it's about that storyline and those characters," he acknowledges Ragnarok opened a whole world of potentially new and exciting adventures for the God of Thunder.
"I also think there’s an appetite for it now, or there’s a far greater range of possibilities of where he can go now, what he can do, just because we’ve kind of broken the mold a bit," Hemsworth said.
Do you want to see Chris Hemsworth continue playing Thor in future Marvel movies, or do you think it's time to move on?