What does each Thor: Love and Thunder cameo mean? Like recent MCU movies Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: No Way Home, Thor 4 was rich with exciting cameos that enriched the past and set up a promising future for MCU Phase 4 and beyond.
The return of much-loved characters like Thor, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Jane Foster, and Korg didn’t come as a shock, while Russell Crowe’s electrifying MCU debut as Zeus was revealed in the trailer for the fantasy movie — but as always, Marvel had a trick or three under their sleeves, treating us with new characters, old characters, and even a Hollywood A-lister or two in order to keep things fresh.
Of course, with leaks being one of Marvel’s biggest issues, some of these cameos may not come as a surprise — but that doesn’t make their impact any less pertinent. It’s difficult to balance cameos at the best of times, as you’re delivering fanservice while also trying to tell a story, but Taika Waitit strikes that balance perfectly. So let’s go through every Thor: Love and Thunder cameo together.
Every cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder
- Brett Goldstein as Hercules
- Idris Elba as Heimdall
- Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis
- Melissa McCarthy as Fake Hela
- Luke Hemsworth as Fake Thor
- Matt Damon as Fake Loki
- Sam Neill as Fake Odin
Brett Goldstein — Hercules
We’ll start with the biggie — Ted Lasso star Brett Goldstein made a surprise MCU debut during Thor: Love and Thunder’s post-credit scene as Hercules.
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As father Zeus lamented over the way people worshipped superheroes these days rather than gods, he instructed his son to face off against them in order to restore the gods back to their former glory — and he seemed more than up for the challenge.
Idris Elba — Heimdall
Despite his death in Ragnarok, Heimdall’s presence is felt throughout Love and Thunder — most pertinently, through his son, Axl/Astrid (Kieron L. Dyer). After being kidnapped by Gorr, he is able to use his Asgardian abilities to communicate with Thor, and his unwavering faith in the Odinson is clear.
By the end of the movie, his power is shown to be growing further, as he receives training from Heimdall’s sister Sif and is already said to have mastered his abilities. With all this talk of Heimdall, the fact Idris Elba is the one to welcome Jane Foster to Valhalla (a place for the honoured dead) during the second post-credit scene seems only right.
Kat Dennings — Darcy Lewis
Darcy Lewis was a breakout character in the first Thor movie, so fans were naturally delighted to see her reprise her role some years later in Disney Plus series Wandavision.
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But, as great as Wandavision was, we never got to see Darcy interact with the characters she met in the first Thor movie, so it was great to see her pop up in Thor 4 as Jane’s close confidante throughout her cancer battle, proving that they had maintained a strong bond throughout all these years.
Melissa McCarthy — Fake Hela
The New Asgard performers are truly the gift that keeps on giving: with their high camp attitude, terrible performances, and unwavering commitment to their art despite how much peril there is in the world.
As we’ve seen in movies like Bridesmaids, Melissa McCarthy is a fantastic comedic actor, so her debut as Fake Hela (as the touring company add a play recounting the events of Ragnarok to their ever-growing roster) was as hilarious as to be expected.
Luke Hemsworth — Fake Thor
While the return of Fake Thor, Fake Odin, and Fake Loki was somewhat spoiled by on-location filming pictures leaking last year, that didn’t make Luke Hemsworth’s return as Fake Thor any less hilarious.
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The fact he is the real-life brother of Thor actor Chris Hemsworth continues to make his return as the character that much funnier.
Matt Damon —Fake Loki
Matt Damon might be known as the smouldering Jason Bourne, but his overly-melodramatic performance as Fake Loki as well as a passionate thespian committed to his art (regardless of the number of children kidnapped) shows that he is also an incredibly skilled comedic actor.
Let’s be real, a lot of us were hoping that Loki would cheat death once again and show up in Love and Thunder — and while he didn’t Matt Damon’s Fake Loki is a more than sufficient consolation prize.
Sam Neill — Fake Odin
What makes Sam Neill’s portrayal of Fake Odin that much funnier is the fact that, despite appearing as the character more than once, he genuinely has no idea what’s going on but just rolls with it anyway.
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He revealed as much on the Fitzy and Wippa radio show last year. “I’ve never understood any of the Thor films. In fact, the whole Marvel universe is a complete mystery to me,” he said. “To be honest, I was completely baffled. I came back, I was baffled again, I did my bit, I don’t know who is playing who exactly because they are sort of swapping roles.” That makes two of us, Sam.
You can watch Thor: Love and Thunder in theatres now.