With the fourth Avengers movie finishing filming, it could mean the end of the road for some of our favorite characters, unless they sign new contracts. While we're expecting some names, like Robert Downey Jr., to end their run, others like Chris Hemsworth are less sure. Recently, the actor was asked if he might return to the role of Thor now that he's officially done with the role, and while it sounds like he previously had been ready to call it a day, he's now more open to returning. According to Hemsworth...
I've just, literally two days ago, finished Avengers 4 and that's my contract -- my pre-existing contract is done now, so it's kind of like, 'Wow, that's it. 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.
While Chris Hemsworth stops short of giving IGN a definitive answer, he does say that the character of Thor has changed enough over the last few films, two of which we haven't even seen yet, that he found himself excited to play Thor again, which maybe hadn't been the case previously. Perhaps the final decision about whether or not Hemsworth plays Thor again will simply come down to whether or not he thinks the story being told is one that does interesting things with the character.
Marvel is keeping their cards close to their vest and so we have little idea what they have planned for Phase 4. We know that the next series of films will be more focused on outer space and the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie will play a big role in getting that started. Beyond that, however, we don't have much to go on. It's possible that Marvel has already made decisions about which characters they even want to see return, or it's possible they're waiting to see what deals they can make.
It's also possible that the entire plan is being rethought following the Disney purchase of Fox. With the potential to bring in the entire X-Men universe into the MCU in a couple of years, perhaps everything that was planned is being reconsidered. At this point it doesn't look we'll know much of what is going on until sometime after Avengers 4 comes out in 2019.
