Imagine falling into a coma in the year 2011, waking up over a decade later, and finding out that Thor -- of all superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- is the first and only character to receive a fourth solo movie. While it might be a little tougher to wrap your mind around phenomena like TikTok, the alarmingly swift rise of political extremism here in the United States, and a bunch of celebrities publicly embarrassing themselves for selling out to the crypto folks (oh, and that whole ongoing pandemic, too), it'd still be difficult to explain the explosion in Thor's popularity over the years.

Once a stick-in-the-mud Shakespeare wannabe, director Taika Waititi finally stepped in to take advantage of actor Chris Hemsworth's innate charm and overt comedic chops with "Thor: Ragnarok" in 2017. All eyes now turn to "Thor: Love and Thunder" in the hopes of recapturing that magic for the god of thunder's fourth solo outing. But as much as a staple as Hemsworth's hammer-wielding hero has become over the years, how much longer can we reasonably expect him to keep playing the part?

That's a question at the forefront of the actor's mind as well, apparently. While he's not quite looking for the exit just yet, Hemsworth has made it clear that he has some strong stipulations in order to lead more movies in the MCU. His biggest priority? Every script has to bring something new to the table.

'I'd Like To Exit Before People Tell Me To Exit'

Nobody likes to overstay their welcome at a party, and neither does Chris Hemsworth. The MCU might be the most successful (and lucrative!) game in town at the moment, but even gods can't do this forever. The actor spoke with Total Film recently about what it would take for him to subject himself to the rigorous preparation involved for these movies and suit up once more for another adventure as Thor:

"Each time, if the opportunity comes up and presents itself, I'm just open to whatever creative exploration can happen, thanks to different writers and directors and so on. But I love playing the character, I really do. It always comes down to: 'Is this script different to the last one? Are we repeating something?' And when it becomes too familiar, I think that's when I'd have to say, 'Yeah, no, this doesn't... I think I've... I'd like to exit before people tell me to exit."

He added that last comment with a laugh, so it's safe to assume he's merely attempting to be self-aware about the inevitability of bringing his fan-favorite run as Thor to an end. Kevin Feige himself seems to think there's a strong chance for more Thor down the line. As he put it to Total Film:

"I know this: there are many, many other Thor stories in the comics that we talk about a lot. 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."

The day will come when Hemsworth finally calls it quits, but it's not today. Until then, we can look forward to "Thor: Love and Thunder" premiering on July 8, 2022.

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The post Chris Hemsworth Has a Game Plan for When He'll Stop Playing Thor appeared first on /Film.