Chris Hemsworth won’t let his MCU run end with audiences ‘so exhausted that they roll their eyes when they see me’

Even though he owes his entire career to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Chris Hemsworth isn’t obligated to come running and pick up Thor’s mighty hammer any time the franchise calls.

In fact, after the apathetic response to Love and Thunder, he could probably do with a break from comic book capers for a while, seeing as he’s gone on record and admitted that it didn’t quite turn out the way he would like. He’ll definitely be back, though, at least for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars you’d imagine, but beyond that? Well, the actor admitted to Entertainment Weekly that he’s going to give it all up the day audiences grow tired of seeing him.

“I’ve got to be careful how I word that because I have no idea what’s happening in the next phase. There’s always conversations, like with Extraction. Before anything is official, people are throwing around ideas. But officially, I don’t know. I don’t want to continue to do it until people are so exhausted that they roll their eyes when they see me come on the screen as that character.

If an audience wants to see it, and if there’s something that we believe is exciting and fun, then great. I’ve loved being able to reinvent that character a few times. I don’t have the answer yet, but I would love to try and [figure out] how we can do that again and keep it a little unpredictable.”

It’s been 12 years since Thor released, he’s become the only MCU hero t get four solo movies, and his total appearances now range in the double digits, so he’s more than proven his value to the sprawling sandbox. When he gives it up for good, people are going to miss him without a doubt, but he’s earned the right to ride off into the sunset.