Thor Odinson may be retired in Thor:Love and Thunder, but Chris Hemsworth isn’t hanging up the hammer just yet. After Avengers: Endgame concluded with Thor joining the Guardians of the Galaxy in space, the space viking returns for a reunion with the new Thor: his ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Despite the Australian actor’s recent comments that Thor 4 “might be [his] last Marvel movie” — Hemsworth is no longer under contract with Marvel Studios — the eight-time Marvel Cinematic Universe star hints his superhero retirement will be shortlived.
“I’ll do it until someone says get off the stage,” Hemsworth told Deadline of his Marvel future at the Thor: Love and Thunder red carpet premiere. “I love [playing Thor].”
The actor has portrayed the Marvel superhero since 2011’s Thor, reprising the role in three sequels and four Avengers movies to become the first character to headline four solo outings. Hemsworth previously admitted he grew “bored” of Thor before director Taika Waititi, who returns for Love and Thunder, reinvented and reinvigorated the Asgardian Avenger in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok.
“There’s an adolescent quality to him, a sense of adventure. And a sort of fun immaturity,” Hemsworth told Deadline. “[Working with Waititi], it’s something different each time, something fresh. And he’s a dear friend. He has the same sort of immature quality I was talking about. In the best way possible.”
In 2020, before filming began on Thor 4, Hemsworth told Elle Man that he is “not going into any retirement period. Thor is way too young for that. He’s only 1,500 years old.” He added Love And Thunder is “definitely not a film that I say goodbye to this brand — at least I hope so.”
Marvel Studios president and Thor producer Kevin Feige has seemingly echoed those comments. In a recent interview with Total Film, Feige said of Hemsworth’s Thor future: “There are many, many other Thor stories in the comics that we talk about a lot [at Marvel].”
Feige continued, “And as we watch Chris Hemsworth continue to grow and evolve as a major acting talent, I would be excited to see how he keeps evolving this complex character.”
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, Taika Waititi, Russell Crowe as Zeus, Jaimie Alexander as Sif, and Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper as the Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder opens in theaters July 8.
