So far, Chris Hemsworth has had one hell of a 2019. Thanks to the monster success of “Avengers: Endgame,” the actor has seen his superstar status rise to even bigger heights. Now, with “Men in Black: International” on the docket for June, Hemsworth is hoping his hot streak continues. And speaking to Variety, the actor talks about some other franchises that he has appeared in earlier, namely “Star Trek” and “Ghostbusters,” and why it’s likely that he won’t be revisiting them anytime soon.
Summers haven’t always been so kind to Hemsworth. Going back to the summer 2016 release of his “Ghostbusters” reboot, in which the actor had a small supporting role, things weren’t so hot for the actor. That film was controversial on its way to theaters, earning tons of debate amongst fans and trolls, who felt that the memory of the 1984 original film was being sullied by Hemsworth and the female leads of the film.
And according to Hemsworth, he was this close to avoiding that drama altogether, as he almost didn’t even appear in the film.
“The night before I was shooting, I almost pulled out,” Hemsworth said. “Three or four weeks prior, Paul [Feig] said to me, ‘I’m going to write up the character. Don’t worry.’ And then I got the script and nothing had changed.”
Ultimately, Hemsworth stayed on, and by many accounts, is one of the best parts of the film. However, as we mentioned, the reception the 2016 “Ghostbusters” film received was…less than enthusiastic. Trolls came out of the woodwork, complaining about the casting of the film and were calling for people to boycott the reboot even before it hit theaters. And for Hemsworth, the whole situation still bugs him.
“That whole period I was like, ‘What ownership do you guys have over those characters?’” Hemsworth said. “Oh, you watched the film, therefore you should have a say over where it goes? I thought it was very unfortunate and kind of disappointing.”
That being said, the actor does say that he’d be willing to come back to the “Ghostbusters” franchise. However, as we’ve seen with the new sequel in production now, the likelihood that anybody from that 2016 film coming back for most ‘busting is slim to none.
One role that fans are itching to see him revisit is that of Captain Kirk’s father in the “Star Trek” reboot film universe. As seen in the 2009 film, pre-“Thor,” Hemsworth is the proud papa of James T. Kirk but quickly meets his demise. It was rumored that he was going to be brought back for the upcoming “Star Trek 4,” which has apparently stalled, but the actor says he’s not interested in coming back, at the moment at least.
“I didn’t feel like we landed on a reason to revisit that yet,” he said. “I didn’t want to be underwhelmed by what I was going to bring to the table.”
Of course, since that version of “Star Trek 4” has been put on the backburner, there has been talk that another form the film could take is spearheaded by Quentin Tarantino. And we’ll have to see if there’s room for Hemsworth in that version, if it ever gets made.
Until then, you can see Hemsworth in the aforementioned ‘Endgame,’ in theaters now, and the upcoming “Men in Black: International,” in theaters on June 14.