Thor: Love and Thunder set video reveals Melissa McCarthy will play former MCU character

‘This is going to be hilarious,’ one fan wrote

Set photos of Marvel film Thor: Love and Thunder have revealed a surprise cast member.

On Tuesday (2 March), photos and a behind-the-scenes video showed several actors assembled to film a scene, which led many to point out that one such star had yet to be announced as appearing in the film.

This person is Melissa McCarthy, who in December posted an Instagram video with her husband Ben Falcone in which she asked to be a part of the movie. McCarthy alerted director Taika Waititi to the fact that she happened to be in Australia – where the film is being shot – in case he needed her assistance for any reason.

It turns out he did, and McCarthy will appear in the film as a fictionalised version of Hela, the Thor: Ragnarok villain played by Cate Blanchett.

In the photos, McCarthy is shown reenacting key Ragnarok scenes as part of the comedy troupe who performs plays that recap events from previous films.

Melissa McCarthy’s casting was revealed in new set photos (Getty Images)

Luke Hemsworth – brother of Chris – will be back in the role of the fictional Thor while Sam Neill returns as his father, Odin. He was usually played by Anthony Hopkins.

Matt Damon is reprising the role of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki.

“This is going to be hilarious,” one fan tweeted as viewers of the set video highlighted McCarthy’s presence.

Thor: Love and Thunder will also star Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson and key Guardians of the Galaxy cast members, including Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan and Dave Bautista.

READ MORE: Marvel Phase 4: What movies and Disney Plus TV shows are coming after WandaVision?

The film will be released on 6 May 2022.