Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Thor: Love and ThunderThor: Love and Thunder takes Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Mighty Thor (Natalie Portman) on a cosmic journey to rescue the future and see if they can rekindle their love along the way. Like any hero story, this is a task they can't do alone. It takes the help of Korg (Taika Waititi), Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), and others to get there. Let's take a look at the familiar and surprising faces that show up in this film, making it one of the bigger solo films in the Marvel line-up.
The Guardians
Thor begins the film "adventuring' with the Guardians of the Galaxy, their current line-up consisting of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Nebula (Karen Gillian), Drax (Dave Bautista), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Rocket (Bradley Cooper). They are also accompanied by Kraglin Obfonteri (Sean Gunn). It's his experiences with this tight-knight group and specifically some endearing advice from Quill that convinces Thor to finally part ways with the Guardians and return home to try to find that missing part of him. The Guardians may have been a brief part of Love and Thunder but their time onscreen is memorable all the same (and makes up a good 85% of trailer content).
Dr. Selvig
Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) briefly appears via a video call towards the beginning of the film. Jane consults with him concerning her options for treatment for her cancer. Selvig, unfortunately, can't offer Jane any therapies or treatments for her terminal disease, leading Jane to later seek Asgardian magic for an answer.
Darcy Lewis
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Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) also makes a brief appearance, keeping Jane company while she's undergoing a session of chemotherapy. It's her conversation with Darcy, and a mention of Thor, that puts Asgard on her mind, helping to lead her to Mjölnir in New Asgard. Prior to this, Darcy was called in by S.W.O.R.D. in the Westview incident on WandaVision in which Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olson) took a town hostage using her psychokinetic abilities.
The Asgardian Players
New Asgard has become a tourist trap by the time we catch up with it in Love and Thunder. Returning from their palace performance for Loki (Tom Hiddleston) disguised as Odin (Anthony Hopkins) are a group of Asgardian actors. Matt Damon, Sam Neill, and Luke Hemsworth reprise their roles as actors playing Loki, Odin, and Thor, respectively. Telling the story of Odin's death from Thor: Ragnarok, they are joined by Melissa McCarthy, who delivers a dramatic performance as Hela, Odin's daughter. She is also joined by her real-life husband, Ben Falcone, playing an unnamed stage manager who joins the aforementioned in their play's curtain call. When the town's children are kidnapped by Gorr and New Asgard is in crisis, Matt Damon and Luke Hemsworth as their actor characters are already wanting to plan their next play
Sif
Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) returns briefly to help inform Thor of the looming threat that is Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale). When Thor summons the bifrost to rescue an injured Sif, an amusing scene follows. The Asgardian warrior realizes that when she requests Thor to let her die so that she could to Valhalla, it is actually too late, and she must survive since the battle is over. After learning from Sif of the havoc Gorr is unleashing on different worlds and his possession of the necrosword, Thor assembles a team to travel to Omnipotent City to request Zeus for help.
Gods of Omnipotent City
During the assembly of the Gods, many figures stand out including Bast the Panther God, Bao the Dumpling God, a Goddess of the Dead, and other Gods from various cultures, including an Aztec God, an Artemis God, and a Mayan God.
India Hemsworth
Chris Hemsworth's real-life daughter plays Love, who is Gorr's daughter. The cursed God Butcher uses his one wish for Eternity to bring her back to life after his daughter died from the harsh conditions of their home planet at the opening of the film. He perishes in the process, but before he dies, he asks Thor to take care of her, and the God of Thunder obliges his request, becoming a Dad of Thunder. In a ridiculously cute final scene of the movie, we find Love and Thunder living as a father-daughter duo, going on adventures and fighting the bad guys in the process.
Other Various Children
During the process of this film, Thor: Love and Thunder became a family venture. In addition to his daughter playing Love, Hemsworth's son plays the younger version of Thor at the beginning of the film, helping to establish the journey that Thor has been on. And if you're thinking that there has to be some other actors' children in the kidnapped group, you would be right. Taika Waititi, Natalie Portman, and Christian Bale all also had children who took part in this film with small acting roles.
Elsa Pataky
But thankfully, Hemsworth wasn't alone with his kids on set -- the titular star's wife who is known for her performance as Elena in the Fast & Furious franchise also makes a brief cameo in the film, helping to set up Thor's lovesick story for Love and Thunder. Credited as "Wolf Woman," Elsa Pataky is featured in a scene during Korg's opening monologue, narrating Thor's relationship with love (the idea, not the girl). She is seen kissing the God of Thunder riding the back of a wolf -- good thing they had plenty of practice!
Hercules
And the crowd went wild! In the first post-credit scene of the movie, Zeus is revealed to be alive and calls upon his son to help him in his quest for retribution. Played by the striking Brett Goldstein from Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso, this casting is the stuff of fan fiction. Although we only got a glimpse of the marvel of a man, it's not known when he will next come into play, but the end credits confirmed that Thor will be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe again. At this point, it's just a matter of when. Until then, we'll have to live off of the high of this exciting tease of a post-credit scene and wait for the demi-god to go the distance!
Heimdall
Although Heimdall's (Idris Elba) son, Axl (Keiron L. Dyer), plays a significant role in successfully beating Gorr and rescuing the Asgardian children, Heimdall doesn't appear in the film until the final post-credit scene. In this brief moment, he greets Jane when she arrives in Valhalla as she is now considered an Asgardian warrior in every right. He also thanks her for watching out for his son, as he welcomes her to the Asgardian paradise. As noted in Moon Knight, Marvel allows for the co-existence of post-corporeal existences.