Every ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Cameo, Explained
While Thor: Love and Thunder was no Spider-Man: No Way Home or Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Marvel Cinematic Universe film still managed to have a handful of cameos. From characters from previous MCU projects to the introduction of new heroes, the latest Marvel movie had a bit of something for everyone.
[Spoiler alert: This article contains Thor: Love and Thunder spoilers.]
2 former ‘Thor’ actors made cameos in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’
Everyone knew Natalie Portman would reprise her role as Jane Foster in Thor: Love and Thunder, but it was a surprise when two other Thor actors joined her.
In the first two Thor movies, Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgård played Darcy Lewis and Erik Selvig, Jane’s colleagues. Erik also appeared in The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, and fans last saw Darcy in WandaVision.
Darcy and Erik made cameos in Thor: Love and Thunder as they supported Jane through her cancer diagnosis. Darcy comforted Jane during chemotherapy. And Erik appeared via a video call to tell Jane that any treatment would be ineffective due to the advanced stage of her cancer. It’s unclear if Dennings or Skarsgård will reprise their roles in the future, especially after Jane’s death.
Who played the Asgardian stage actors?
Other cameos in Thor: Love and Thunder included the return of the Asgardian stage actors from Thor: Ragnarok and one new performer.
Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, and Sam Neill put on another play as Loki, Thor, and Odin, respectively. But this time, they were acting out the events of the third Thor film, so they needed someone to play Hela. And in came Melissa McCarthy to appear as the Goddess of Death.
McCarthy’s husband, Ben Falcone, also made a cameo as the stage manager of the play in Thor: Love and Thunder.
The families of the ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ stars made cameos
Of course, some famous actors appeared briefly in the fourth Thor movie. However, some of the characters were played by the cast’s family.
Chris Hemsworth’s wife, Elsa Pataky, played the wolf woman Thor has an affair with, and his children also appeared in the film. The couple’s daughter, India Hemsworth, played one of the central characters in Thor: Love and Thunder — Gorr’s daughter, Love. And one of their twin boys played young Thor during a flashback scene.
Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, and Taika Waititi’s kids also made cameos as Asgardian children in Thor: Love and Thunder.
The post-credits scenes introduced 1 new hero and brought back 1 former hero
We can’t discuss cameos in Thor: Love and Thunder without mentioning the end-credits scenes.
The first extra scene revealed that Zeus was alive after Thor pierced him in the chest with his thunderbolt. And after the betrayal, Zeus wanted revenge. So he implored his son, Hercules, to find Thor and kill him. And who played the famous Greek hero? None other than Brett Goldstein from Ted Lasso.
The second Thor: Love and Thunder post-credits scene featured the return of a deceased hero — Idris Elba as Heimdall. After Jane died in battle, she entered the gates of Valhalla, and Heimdall immediately greeted her. Even though she’s not a god, they made an exception and welcomed her into Valhalla.
3 actors’ cameos didn’t make the final cut of ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’
Jeff Goldblum, Peter Dinklage, and Lena Headey all filmed scenes for Thor: Love and Thunder, but their cameos didn’t make the cut. As Marvel fans recall, Goldblum played Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok, and Dinklage played Eitri in Avengers: Infinity War. It’s unclear which character Headey was supposed to appear as in the MCU film.
During an interview with Insider, director Taika Waititi explained why their scenes got cut.
“I wrote the thing, so when you cut anything, it’s a little bit of a challenge to yourself because you’re like, ‘Am I not that good? Should I have seen this coming?'” he shared. “But every film I’ve done, I’ve probably cut the same amount out. When you go into the edit, you just never know. A scene on its own could be the most funniest thing or intriguing thing, but sometimes those things, if you keep them in, will just make the movie screech to a halt.”
Waititi continued, “So you have to do what’s best for the film. And if you ask any of those actors who were cut out — Jeff Goldblum, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage — they all understand how it works. They have been in the game long enough. But that’s just the way I look at things … I don’t want people to see the deleted scenes because they’re deleted for a reason: They aren’t good enough. [Laughs.] The scenes were not in the movie, and that’s it.”
Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters.
