‘Thor: Love and Thunder’: Karen Gillen Confirms Nebula is Back, Matt Damon May Have Joined the Cast

thor love and thunder cast

Thor: Love and Thunder may be spreading the, ahem, love to potential new cast members.

Karen Gillan, who starred as reformed assassin Nebula in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and Avengers: Endgame, and Matt Damon, who previously had a cameo role in Thor: Ragnarok, are reportedly joining the Thor: Love and Thunder cast, as both stars were revealed to have touched down in Sydney, Australia, were the Marvel Studios sequel is filming.

You can add Thor: Love and Thunder to that list of movies where suddenly, there is Matt Damon. Australia News reports that Damon and his family have arrived in Sydney and are quarantining ahead of production on Thor: Love and Thunder, for which Damon will reportedly film a role. This follows his surprise cameo appearance in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, where he made a brief appearance as an Asgardian stage actor portraying Loki. The Thor: Love and Thunder appearance, if reports hold water, will likely be a reprisal of that nameless character, who appears to have survived the assault on Asgard.

But in more concrete casting, we have Karen Gillan, who plays Nebula, the reformed assassin, adopted daughter of the intergalactic warlord Thanos, and sister to Gamora. Nebula was last seen joining the Guardians of the Galaxy in the closing scenes of Avengers: Endgame. Or rather, the “Asguardians of the Galaxy,” as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) dubs them upon boarding their ship and butting heads with Star-Lord (Chris Pratt).

Nebula’s appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder, which was initially assumed when the actress shared her landing in Sydney on her Instagram, seems likely as the film will probably pick up after Thor has started traversing the galaxy with its Guardians. Pratt’s Star-Lord is also set to join the sprawling cast, which suggests that the rest of the Guardians, including Dave Bautista’s Drax, Pom Klementieff’s Mantis, Bradley Cooper’s Rocket, and Vin Diesel’s Groot, will join the fray.

Gillan’s role in Thor: Love and Thunder was further confirmed by the actress in an Instagram Story Q&A with fans (via Digital Spy), in which she said, “I cut [my hair] the other day in preparation for Nebula, so that we don’t have to get so much hair into the bald cap because I have so much hair, it’s unbelievable. It’s just so thick.”

Gillan joins a cast that includes Hemsworth, Christian Bale, Tessa Thompson, and Natalie Portman, with the latter returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World. Directed and written by Taika Waititi, Thor: Love and Thunder is set to open on May 6, 2022.