With Reporting By Josh Horowitz

It's been a little bit since we last heard from the God of Thunder, coming off his biggest conquest yet, as "Thor: The Dark World" destroyed the box office back in November.

But Chris Hemsworth was back in a big way at San Diego Comic-Con, coming together with the rest of the the Avengers to give us a peek at next year's much-anticipated (understatement of the century) "Avengers: Age of Ultron." Sadly for Thor fans, it will be the first movie where Thor is without Tom Hiddleston's fan favorite, Loki. How did Hemsworth feel about acting without his onscreen brother?

"Thank God," Hemsworth joked. "He'll probably show up here in a minute dressed up in the full garb and embarrass us all."

But fans will get a brand new villain to take Loki's place, in the form of James Spader's Ultron, a character who, based on the incredible footage shown at the Marvel panel, could mean the end (and by end, we mean death) of all of the Avengers. Hemsworth was pretty excited to have some new blood on board.

"It's awesome. Someone new brings a whole different dynamic to it," Hemsworth said of Spader. "He's just so smart, and so impressive, and kind of unsettling as this character. All of us were standing on set and watching him do his scene the first day and started applauding at the end of it because it was so good. It's amazing."

Of course, Loki and his minions threatened the existence of the entire world in the first movie and destroyed most of fictional New York. Even with a superb villain like Spader, how do you top that?

"The first film, no matter how big the battle got, was about the team coming together," Hemsworth said. "This is about that team now being threatened, and do they stay together or split up, and where do they all stand?"

Hemsworth seemed to think that the more important thing to top is the dramatic element, which is the heart of the series.

"Yes, the threat that they're facing is bigger and even more dramatic and impressive, but I think it's the intimate relationships that make it special, and that's what Joss has done again, he's threaded it all together."

"Avengers" isn't the only franchise Hemsworth is tied to, as he also plays the titular huntsman in "Snow White and the Huntsman." There are rumors that the next movie might focus solely on Hemsworth's character and will be directed by Frank Darabont, and while Hemsworth wouldn't give us anything more than that, he said he's always loved Darabont and his movies.

"I'd be lucky to have him involved," Hemsworth said. "He's pretty incredible."

"Avengers: Age of Ultron" opens everywhere May 1, 2015.

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