The Marvel Cinematic Universe is famed for assembling star-studded ensembles for every single one of its projects, but you could make an argument that outside of the Avengers movies, Thor: Love and Thunder boasts arguably the most stacked lineup we’ve seen in a solo adventure.
As well as being co-written and directed by Academy Award winner Taika Waititi, who also plays Korg, there are four other Oscar honorees among the lineup. Natalie Portman is back as Jane Foster, Matt Damon returns as an Asgardian thespian, with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe making their MCU debuts as Gorr the God Butcher as Zeus.
That’s without even mentioning Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel and Jeff Goldblum, or Luke Hemsworth, Sam Neill and Melissa McCarthy as the rest of Damon’s in-universe repertory.
If that still wasn’t enough, then a genuine knight has now been announced for Love and Thunder late in the day, with acclaimed Shakespearean theater legend and Penny Dreadful alum Sir Simon Russell Beale having joined the Odinson’s fourth solo outing, which was revealed in a playbill for his latest stint treading the boards in The Lehman Trilogy. Gods, humans, aliens, thieves, killers and now knights; next summer’s cosmic epic is shaping up very nicely.