Thor: Love and Thunder Post-Credits Scenes Explained
After years of hype and anticipation, Thor: Love and Thunder is officially out into the world, with the long-awaited follow-up to Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok being released in theaters this weekend. As the latest installment in the ever-growing tapestry that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans are probably expecting some franchise staples to appear in Love and Thunder — including the typical post-credits scene. Now that the film has been released, let's dive into the film's two post-credits scenes, and what payoff they bring for the MCU going forward. Obviously, major spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder lurk below! Only look if you want to know!
The first after-credits scene occurs midway through the credits, and reveals that Zeus (Russell Crowe) actually survived being stabbed in the chest by his magical lightning bolt earlier in the film. As Zeus' wounds are tended to, he monologues about how the humans have forgotten and taken advantage of the Gods, and how they need to remind them, seemingly with their own champion. We then see a man stand from a kneeling pose, who Zeus addresses as his son — it's Hercules, played by Ted Lasso star Brett Goldstein.
The final after-credits scene occurs at the very end of the credits, and serves as a coda for Jane Foster's (Natalie Portman) journey and subsequent death, after transforming back and forth into The Mighty Thor has begun to drain her of her life force. Jane is shown arriving in Valhalla and reacting in a surprised way. She is then greeted by Heimdall (Idris Elba), who welcomes her to the heavenly realm and briefly explains how Valhalla works.
While both of Thor: Love and Thunder's post-credits scenes are short, they undeniably make an impact on the film. One introduces a long-awaited fan-favorite hero into the MCU (portrayed by an Emmy-winning actor, nonetheless), while the other softens the blow of Jane's surprising death within the film, and potentially teases that there's more story for her.
"I never did," Portman recently told ComicBook.com about imagining potentially portraying The Mighty Thor. "I really was excited by the idea of playing an astrophysicist in a movie of this size. I thought that was such a cool opportunity to, get to portray. And then, the comic book that had this idea of Jane becoming Mighty Thor only was published in 2014. So, it was like several years after I had started being part of the film. So, that's when it started coming up as an idea."
What do you think of Thor: Love and Thunder's post-credits scenes? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing exclusively in theaters.