All the Cameos in Thor: Love and Thunder

6 minute read

This story contains spoilers for all Marvel movies and television series

Thor: Love and Thunder is chock-full of cameos. The movie, helmed by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, already stars a number of A-listers, including Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, and Natalie Portman returning as Dr. Jane Foster. The plot centers on the villain Gorr the Godbutcher (Christian Bale) kidnapping a group of Asgardian children, with the real-life children of Hemsworth, Waititi, and Portman filling some of those roles.

A few old favorite characters from past Thor movies make brief appearances in the film. And, like Thor: Ragnarok, before it, Thor: Love and Thunder features a play-within-a-movie scene recapping the drama of the past Thor films. Several A-listers pop up as the over-dramatic actors portraying Thor, Loki, Odin, and Hela.

Here are the major cameos in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Matt Damon as Actor Loki

Damon reprises his role from Thor: Ragnarok as the overeager actor portraying the trickster god Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston in the other Thor films).

Luke Hemsworth as Actor Thor

Chris Hemsworth’s brother, Luke, plays the actor portraying Thor in the same play-within-a-movie.

Melissa McCarthy as Actor Hela

Melissa McCarthy makes a surprise appearance as the actor portraying Thor and Loki’s sister Hela (played by Cate Blanchett in Thor Ragnarok).

Read More: How Director Taika Waititi Managed to Make Thor Funny

Ben Falcone as Asgardian Stage Manager

Ben Falcone, who happens to be McCarthy’s husband, plays the stage manager of the Asgardian play moving all the hilariously low-tech (considering Asgardians are literal gods) props around.

Sam Neill as Actor Odin

Fresh off Jurassic World: Dominion, Waititi’s fellow Kiwi Sam Neill is the actor playing Thor and Loki’s dad Odin, portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in past Thor films.

Jaimie Alexander as Sif

Jaimie Alexander, who starred as Thor’s ally Sif in the first two Thor films had disappeared from the franchise. But she returns, briefly, to Love and Thunder to tell Thor about Gorr’s mission to kill all the gods.

Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis

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Kat Dennings in Thor: The Dark WorldMarvel Studios

Another mainstay of the early Thor films, Kat Dennings played Jane’s assistant. She memorably kept mispronouncing the name of Thor’s hammer Mjölnir, calling it “Mew Mew.” She has since completed her doctorate in astrophysics and pops up in Wandavision as one of the scientists recruited by the government agency S.W.O.R.D. to study Wanda’s hex. She briefly appears in Love and Thunder to visit Jane while Jane undergoes chemotherapy. She encourages Jane to relax, tell others what is going on, and maybe give Thor a call.

Read More: The Thor Comics Can Help Us Understand What Happens to Jane After Thor: Love and Thunder

Stellan Skarsgård as Professor Erik Selvig

Stellan Skarsgård played Jane’s friend and mentor Professor Erik Selvig in the first two Thor films. Unfortunately for Erik, he gets brainwashed by Loki and spends most of the Avengers mind-controlled. He has a mental breakdown, recovers, and helps the Avengers during Ultron. He pops up in one scene in Love and Thunder to consult with Jane about her cancer diagnosis.

Idris Elba as Heimdall

Idris Elba’s Heimdall—the all-seeing, all-hearing Asgardian god of the Bifrost Bridge—was Thor’s best friend and ally in all the previous Thor films. Sadly, Thanos murders Heimdall in front of Thor at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, but not before Heimdall uses his powers to send Hulk to earth to warn Doctor Strange about the coming alien invasion. Since he died in battle, Heimdall gets to live out the afterlife in Valhalla. When Jane Foster dies at the end of Love and Thunder, he greets her at the gates of eternal afterlife in an end-credits scene.

Russell Crowe as Zeus

After Gorr kidnaps the Asgardian children, Thor decides to seek help from the rest of the gods. They are led by Zeus, the Greek god of lightning, played by Russell Crowe. Zeus turns out to be rather entitled and, when he gets into a tiff with Thor, disinvites him from the godly orgy that he’s planning.

Brett Goldstein as Hercules

In a mid-credits scene, Zeus complains that humans don’t respect the gods anymore. They worship superheroes instead. He vows to rain down terror and lightning on earth to prove their power and enlists his son, Hercules to help him. The legendary Greek hero is played by none other than Brett Goldstein, best known as the grumpy, potty-mouthed soccer player Roy Kent in Ted Lasso.

The Guardians of the Galaxy

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The Guardians gang, with a few new members, proves that more can actually be less.Marvel

At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Thor gave up his throne as King of Asgard and hitched a ride with the Guardians of the Galaxy into space. At the beginning of Love and Thunder he’s still hanging out with the motley crew. Chris Pratt (Starlord), Dave Butista (Drax), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Sean Gunn (Kraglin), Vin Diesel (Groot), and Bradley Cooper (Rocket) all appear (or, in the case of the CGI Groot and Rocket, “appear”) in the film. Zoe Saldana’s Gamora is still in the wind after the events of Avengers: Endgame.

India Rose Hemsworth as Love

In a twist at the end of the film, Thor agrees to adopt Gorr’s daughter as Gorr lies dying. We learn in a voiceover that she and Thor together are known as Love and Thunder. We see Thor take her home, make her pancakes, and teach her the ways of the superhero. If it looks natural, there’s a reason: The little girl is played by Hemsworth’s own daughter, India Rose.

Tristan Hemsworth as Kid Thor

Hemsworth’s two other children also appear in the film. Tristan Hemsworth appears as a running child version of Thor at the beginning of the film during a montage that shows Thor growing up.

Sasha Hemsworth as Asgardian Kid

Yet another one of Hemsworth’s kids is among the Asgardian children captured by Gorr. The group of kids fights back against the villain using powers imbued in them by Thor himself at the end of the movie.

Read More: Why Marvel Movies Are Obsessed With Parent-Child Relationships

Amalia and Aleph Millepied as Asgardian Kids

Love and Thunder was truly a family affair. Natalie Portman’s children were also among those featured in the group of kidnapped kids.

Matewa Kiritapu Waititi and Te Kainga O’Te Hinekahu Waititi as Asgardian Kids

In addition to featuring the children of the film’s stars, the director cast his own kids in the movie as well, again as Asgardian children that are captured by Gorr.

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Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com