Following the critical and financial success of Thor: Ragnarok, a film that saw Taika Waititi deconstruct Chris Hemsworth‘s Thor only to build him back up into something bombastic and new, the green light was quickly given to a fourth installment in the Thor series. That film, Thor: Love and Thunder, seemed to indicate that Waititi learned all the wrong lessons from his time on Ragnarok and while it did just fine at the box office, critics and fans alike found it far less pleasing than its predecessor.
Though the film leaves plenty of room for Hemsworth to return for another classic Thor adventure and the actor has said he’d be up for it if the script is right, savvy audience members who have read between the lines of Hemsworth’s interviews have oft noted something is rotten in the state of Asgard. Simply put, it doesn’t seem likely that Hemsworth and Waititi will be teaming up for Thor 5 unless the director comes up with a major course correction.
In a lengthy interview with GQ, Hemsworth shed some on his past as the God of Thunder and what it would take for him to have a future in the role. “I love the experience,” said Hemsworth of playing Thor. “I love the fact that I’ve been able to do something fairly different throughout the process. Thor 1 and 2 were their own thing, Thor 3 and 4 were a very different feel… and then even Avengers, the Lebowski Thor, the Infinity War Thor, due to different directors and I think mostly my own need to do something different.”
That “different” seems to be central to Hemsworth’s willingness to return to the character. “You know, I got sick of the character pretty quick every couple of years,” joked Hemsworth. “If I was going to do something again it would have to be tonally different. And we’d have to do something very drastic to keep people on their toes. Otherwise, it’s just the fatigue of those characters and those films, where people are like, ‘I’ve seen it.’“
Part of Hemsworth’s concern comes from a more mature perspective. After being constantly busy for over a decade, he’s begun to slow down to spend more time with his family and, in that time, become a bit more contemplative about how he’d like his career to be shaped in the future and what legacy he’ll leave behind. “I’ve had my next job booked two or three years ahead of me for the last 12 years,” he says, noting that he doesn’t quite know what he’ll do next. Whatever it is “has to be more than a career move,” explained Hemsworth, an a project “worthy of my time.” As he ponders whether or not there’s more Thor in his future, there’s noteworthy irony in that statement.
“Everything has more importance now,” he explains in continuing to discuss how he’ll choose future projects. “Because of the realisation that this isn’t going to last forever. I don’t want to leave a pile of rubbish behind,” Hemsworth says. “And I’m aware that there’s a few misses there.” Was one of those misses Thor: Love and Thunder?
“‘We thought this one had too much humour, the action was cool but the VFX weren’t as good,’” Hemsworth say, recalling “a bunch of eight-year-olds critiquing” Love and Thunder. As for his own thoughts on the film, it’s safe to say it doesn’t stand among his favorites. “I cringe and laugh equally at it. I think we just had too much fun. It just became too silly,” Hemsworth explained. “It’s always hard being in the centre of it and having any real perspective… I love the process, it’s always a ride. But you just don’t know how people are going to respond.”
Fortunately for Hemsworth, should he desire to return to the role of Thor, Marvel Comics offer plenty of inspiration for new routes to take with the character. Over more than six decades after first appearing in Journey to Mystery #83, Thor has remained one of the publisher’s most consistently popular characters and his status as a nigh-immortal Asgardian could allow for MCU stories to be told in any era. Perhaps an Old Man Thor story might do the trick as Hemsworth looks to the future of the character.
Source: GQ
