Thor: Love and Thunder has now been released on Disney+ as part of Disney+ Day, available for all subscribers to watch at no additional charge. The Taika Waititi-directed flick features Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder alongside Natalie Portman's Jane Foster, Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, and Korg as they were pitted against Gorr the God Butcher, portrayed by Christian Bale.
Waititi also directed Thor: Ragnarok, the third movie in the Thor series, and he made it a point to bring back some of his signature characteristics in Love and Thunder. One element of Ragnarok that became a talking point amongst fans was the cameos of Matt Damon and Luke Hemsworth. They portrayed Actor Thor and Actor Loki in a theater play on Asgard, reenacting the events of Thor: The Dark World.
The two actors returned to the MCU in Love and Thunder, reprising their roles as hilarious stage actors. This time they were joined by Melissa McCarthy, who played Actress Hela, and the trio dramatized the destruction of Asgard, which took place in Ragnarok. Now that the film has been released on Disney+, the actors have been able to reflect on their cameos, and it seems like all three greatly enjoyed their time on set.
Matt Damon on His MCU Return
Along with the release of Thor: Love and Thunder on Disney+, a new installment of Marvel Studios: Assembled debuted on the streaming service. This particular episode showcased behind-the-scenes footage of the movie, never-before-seen interviews from the cast and crew, and more.
The documentary featured commentary from Matt Damon and Luke Hemsworth on reprising their roles as Actor Loki and Actor Thor, and the overall fun they had shooting the play version of Ragnarok.
Damon briefly mentioned their involvement in Ragnarok, and said that they wanted to "one-up the thing (they) did last time," and also added that coming back to those characters again was "really, really fun:"
"What a lot of people said about the first time is that it was so fast that a lot of people didn’t even know we were in the movie. We were trying to one-up the thing we did last time. We had a ball, it was really, really fun."
Luke Hemsworth, the brother of Thor actor Chris Hemsworth, agreed with Damon, saying "It was so fun."
Damon went on to talk about the filming environment in general, and how there was "a lot of good energy on the set." The Academy-Award-winning actor also praised Melissa McCarthy, who played Actor Hela in Love and Thunder:
"Hopefully, people will dig it. There’s a lot of good energy on the set. A lot of people having a great time and making a great movie. It was a lot of fun with Melissa."
McCarthy also made an appearance in the documentary and was able to talk about her experience. She jokingly mentioned that "people are always mistaking (her) for Cate Blanchett," who is the actress that played Hela in Ragnarok:
"This feels right. And also, people are always mistaking me for Cate Blanchett. So, I was like, ’I don’t know if they’ll get the joke."
The Thor Joke Keeps Running
The inclusion of the plays in the past two Thor films has had no intention to be anything other than comedic fun. It is no secret that Taika Waititi loves to include a hefty amount of humor and lightheartedness in his movies, and the fact that he got Matt Damon and Luke Hemsworth to come back for a second time to reprise their roles is just evidence of how great the environment is on set.
There has been no word on if Waititi will be directing the next Thor movie. At the end of Love and Thunder, it did confirm that the character would be returning in the future, but it didn't give any hints as to where. The director has expressed interest in coming back for a fifth installment in the series, but only if Hemsworth would be returning as well.
If Marvel Studios does elect to bring him back, it is safe to say that Luke Hemsworth will at least be returning as Actor Thor, and he will probably be joined by another celebrity who will take on the challenge of Actor Gorr. If Thor and Loki are reunited in a future project outside of Thor 5, there is a good chance that Damon could return as well. If this is the end of the actors' journeys in the MCU, though, it seems like they at least enjoyed the time that they had.
