Chris Hemsworth's cameo in Interceptor is one of the movie's biggest highlights, but it also ruled out a perfect Netflix crossover opportunity. The success of Die Hard in 1988 would inspire action cinema for the next decade, many of which borrowed its basic formula. Some of the most notable Die Hard-themed follow-ups include Passenger 57, the Under Siege movies and The Rock. The "Die Hard On An X" type of movie largely died out in the late '90s, though there are still occasional success stories like 2013's Olympus Has Fallen.
Every once in a while, a movie seemingly comes out of nowhere to become a major success story, and 2022's Interceptor definitely qualifies in that category. Few had even heard of the Netflix exclusive before it landed on the platform, but it became a word-of-mouth hit that topped the streamer's chart both in the U.S. and many other countries. Interceptor cast Elsa Pataky in the lead and feels like a throwback to the Die Hard-inspired movies that reigned supreme during the '90s, where it's up to a lone protagonist - in this case, Pataky's Captain Collins - to save the day from terrorists playing to disable a missile interceptor platform that could stop a planned nuclear attack.
Interceptor may have received largely mediocre reviews, but Pataky's spirited performance and the movie's scrappy energy made it a hit regardless. Interceptor also features an uncredited cameo from Pataky's husband Chris Hemsworth, who also acted as executive producer on the project. Hemsworth puts the comic chops he's displayed in the most recent Thor movies on display as a laidback salesman at an electronics store. While the actor is buried underneath a thick fake beard and glasses, he's still easy to stop. However, Chris Hemsworth's Interceptor cameo appears to rule out a potential crossover with Netflix's other surprise action hit Extraction, where he played the lead role.
Extraction was another Netflix exclusive where Hemsworth played a mercenary trying to save a drug lord's kidnapped son. The movie's breathless action, lean story and Hemsworth's charismatic turn led to it becoming one of the service's biggest movies, and a sequel is currently in post-production. In a conversation with Collider, Extraction writer and co-producer Joe Russo stated that following its success a shared universe was possible "I will say this: we are working at building out a universe of films that could potentially explore some of the other characters from the first movie and some new characters, and see more historical interaction between the characters." While future films will no doubt depend on the sequel's success, it would be easy to see Interceptor's Collins fitting into Extraction's world quite easily, in addition to giving Pataky and Hemsworth a chance to work together.
However, Hemsworth's Interceptor appearance would likely rule out that chance. The tones of Interceptor and Extraction - which has a famously ambiguous ending - don't quite match up either, with the latter being a little goofier and tongue-in-cheek, but Collins herself would make for a strong crossover character between the two. Considering Chris Hemsworth isn't credited for his cameo, there's a chance the Russos - and viewers - could just overlook his Interceptor cameo if an Extraction crossover was considered, though the more likely scenario is the franchises go their own separate paths.
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