The following article contains major spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder, in theaters now.
Idris Elba's Heimdall, who perished in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, makes a surprise appearance in the Thor: Love and Thunder end credits scene.
In the brief scene, the all-seeing, all-hearing Asgardian gatekeeper welcomes Natalie Portman's Jane Foster to Valhalla, noting that her heroic actions in the blockbuster film were deemed worthy enough to be given entrance into the sacred resting place of the Asgardians. Elba's surprise reprisal of Heimdall in the post-credits scene may come as a shock to some Marvel fans considering the character's inclusion hadn't been rumored or leaked before the film's release in theaters. Thor: Love and Thunder marks the sixth time Elba has portrayed the Marvel character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Idris Elba's Eventful MCU Career
Elba first appeared as Heimdall in 2011's Thor and reprised the role in 2013's Thor: The Dark World, 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron and 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. His final appearance as the Asgardian, until Thor: Love and Thunder, was in Avengers: Infinity War. In the 2018 film, Heimdall summons enough dark magic to channel the Bifrost and send Hulk to Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum in New York City to warn the Avengers of Thanos' impending arrival. The Mad Titan kills Heimdall shortly after Hulk is whisked away in the Bifrost. The Love and Thunder post-credits scene implies that Heimdall arrived in Valhalla after his death and suggests that fans may have not seen the last of the character in the MCU.
In addition to Elba, Thor: Love and Thunder featured the return of several actors who had previously appeared in the God of Thunder's solo films. Matt Damon, Sam Neill, and Luke Hemsworth reprise their roles as Asgardian actors respectively playing Loki, Odin, and Thor. The trio first appeared in Ragnarok acting out Loki's death scene from The Dark World. In Love and Thunder, the actors reenact a different character's death, Thor and Loki's father Odin's death from Ragnarok with Melissa McCarthy joining them as an actress playing Hela. Peter Dinklage and Jeff Goldblum were originally slated to reprise their roles as Eitri and the Grandmaster respectively, but their scenes were trimmed from the film's final cut.
Thor: Love and Thunder takes place after the climactic events of Avengers: Endgame and finds the titular God of Thunder enlisting the help of King Valkyrie, Korg and the Mighty Thor to defeat Gorr the God Butcher, a galactic killer who seeks to eliminate all gods from the universe. Together, they embark upon a harrowing cosmic adventure to uncover the mystery of the God Butcher’s vengeance and stop him before it’s too late. The film is now playing in theaters.
Source: Marvel Studios