Thor 4: Every Cameo Confirmed So Far

Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi’s follow up to his fun and fresh Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, looks to build upon Ragnarok‘s delightful atmosphere with several cameos. The third installment in Marvel Studios’ Thor series of films featured several minor appearances from noteworthy Hollywood talent, and the fourth is set to up the ante on its predecessor’s gimmick. Whether revisiting the in-movie play concept from Thor: Ragnarok or charting new ground for its cameos, several interesting figures have been confirmed to make appearances in Love and Thunder, currently slated for release in 2022.

In 2011, Thor expanded Phase 1 of the MCU to include extraterrestrial threats to humanity—in this case, Asgardians and their enemies. The film set Thor in place ahead of the first team-up in the franchise, The Avengers, before Thor: The Dark World brought Asgard into Phase 2. After a middling response to Thor: The Dark World, the character needed a shot in the arm to revitalize the franchise—and that shot took the form of Waititi’s unique blend of self-aware humor and heart. Thor: Ragnarok was a hit with audiences and critics, earning Waititi the job directing Thor: Love and Thunder.

In examining the success of Thor: Ragnarok, Waititi’s clever writing is evident right from the start. Early on in the film, Thor encounters a melodramatic stage performance of the events of the previous film. Aside from the obvious meta-textual commentary, the players are, themselves, celebrity cameos who deliberately catch the audience’s attention. Thor, for example, is played by Luke Hemsworth, the brother of Thor actor Chris Hemsworth. Matt Damon and Sam Neill play Loki and Odin, respectively. These actors will be reprising their same cameo roles in Thor: Love and Thunder, but MCU newcomers Melissa McCarthy and Russell Crowe have been added to the confirmed list of cameo appearances.

Luke Hemsworth

Luke Hemsworth will be returning in the role of an Asgardian actor playing the role of Thor, in perhaps the best example of the meta humor Waititi looks to continue in the upcoming film. Set photos and video reveal Thor: Love and Thunder will include a reprise of sorts of the theater bit from Ragnarok. Instead of dramatizing the events of The Dark World and Loki’s sacrifice, however, this play will catch audiences up on what they may have forgotten from the events of Thor: Ragnarok.

Most recently, Luke Hemsworth has been featured in the HBO series Westworld as Ashley Stubbs, the fantastical park’s head of security. In addition to Chris, Luke is also the brother of Liam Hemsworth, perhaps most known for his role as Gale Hawthorne in the film adaptations of the young adult dystopian bestselling book series The Hunger Games.

Matt Damon

Like Luke Hemsworth, Damon (Jason Bourne, The Martian) appears to be making his cameo return in the form of the aforementioned play setting. In the Ragnarok performance, Damon played a nobly sacrificial Loki, much to the delight of the trickster god’s ego as he masqueraded as Odin. The Thor: Love and Thunder play will recount Odin’s passing among other events of Ragnarok. With Loki having actually sacrificed himself in Avengers: Infinity War, it will be interesting to see what the new play does with his character.

Damon’s cameos extend beyond just the Thor franchise. Just to name a few, Damon made cameos in two 2018 releases: Deadpool 2 and Ocean’s 8, though his scenes were deleted from the latter. He also coincidentally made a cameo appearance as “Loki,” this time referring to his role in the 1999 film Dogma, in 2019’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.

Sam Neill

Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Event Horizon) rounds out the list of returning celebrity Asgardian players recounting the events of Thor: Ragnarok. Neill played Odin in the former production, and in this new version, he reprises his role as King of Asgard. He even dons the plainclothes outfit the real Odin wore on Earth, where he bid an emotional farewell to his sons before the auspicious return of his scorned daughter Hela.

Melissa McCarthy

McCarthy surprised many when she was spotted in set photos joining Damon, Hemsworth, and Neill as a fellow Asgardian actor. She’ll take on the role of Hela, the main villain of Thor: Ragnarok in Love and Thunder‘s reenactment performance. Interestingly, her husband and long-time collaborator Ben Falcone also has an unknown role in the film. This will be the first foray into the MCU for McCarthy, who built a recognizable brand through her appearances in comedies like Bridesmaids and the reboot of Ghostbusters (2016). Recently, she earned an Academy Award nomination for her starring role in the 2018 biopic Can You Ever Forgive Me? about author Lee Israel.

Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe is the final confirmed cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder known to the public thus far, but as compared to the former four, his role is not confirmed to be related to the Asgardian in-movie production recounting the events of Ragnarok. Speculation as to his role has gone from fellow Asgardian actor, to characters from the comics like Beta Ray Bill, to other comic characters with blood relation to Thor. Balder Odinson, half-brother to Thor, has not yet appeared in the MCU. With all the recent multiverse speculation surrounding the franchise, old King Thor Odinson, an ironfisted alternate-universe Thor, could be in play.

Aside from these cameos, several additional actors are confirmed for more substantial roles in Thor: Love and Thunder. Natalie Portman, absent from the third installment, will return as Jane Foster after appearing in the first two Thor films and will also take up the mantle of Mighty Thor. The film will also introduce Christian Bale to the MCU as Gorr the God Butcher, and the Guardians of the Galaxy actors will feature into the Thor: Love and Thunder story as well. All told, this sequel packs a punch when it comes to star power, and expectations will certainly be high following Waititi’s successful reinvention of the franchise in the third film. Based on the information known so far, it sounds like the celebrity cameos and performances by other impressive actors should help make Thor: Love and Thunder a success.

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