will idris elba be in thor 4?

One of the big surprises of Thor: Love and Thunder was the return of Idris Elba's iconic character Heimdall . Despite being killed off back in Avengers: Infinity War, the Asgardian appeared once again in a post-credits scene for the recent fourth Thor outing.

"It was a big surprise for me to be asked, and Taika [Waititi] and Chris [Hemsworth] are like my brothers, really in the film industry and in life. So it was a joy to be there," the actor, 49, told PEOPLE.

The opportunity came while he was filming George Miller's Three Thousand Years of Longing (in theaters now) in Australia, where Love and Thunder was coincidentally also shooting.

"So I got to hang out with my friends," said Elba, who included his Longing co-star and director, respectively: "I got to introduce my brothers to my sister (Tilda Swinton) in the sphere of both films and George was there and it was like all my best friends, all in one room."

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Fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe star Swinton, 61, remembers the day clearly too, telling PEOPLE, "It was wonderful, but there was an added, extra delicious point to my connection with Taika, because my sweetheart [visual artist Sandro Kopp] used to share a flat with Taika in New Zealand."

It was an auspicious residence, she noted. "It's the flat on which What We Do in the Shadows is based. So I've known [Waititi] for even longer — I know all the stories," the actress added. "And I know how much of that is not made up. So he was already a brother from even further back."

The connection made for a fun reunion. "So to meet and our first day when we got out of lockdown, we had lunch with Taika. And then we went to Chris' house. What a village people we were! That was the funnest day," Swinton says.

In Longing, Elba plays a genie awoken by a shocked mythology professor (Swinton) after she buys a glass bottle at a Turkish market. The tale finds Elba's frustrated genie (or djinn, as he's called in the film) recounting a never-ending quest for freedom as he pleas for Swinton's skeptical scholar to make her three wishes.

"When you meet someone and you become a close long friend instantly, it's pretty magical," says Swinton. "And I really feel this about Idris. He really feels like a brother."

The highly-anticipated Marvel sequel features one of the biggest casts of any solo MCU film, with returning members of the Thor franchise starring in it alongside actors from the Guardians of the Galaxy films. But just in case the sequel’s cast didn’t already seem impressive enough, it’s also set to include more celebrity cameos than any Marvel Studios film to date.

With that said, it’s looking increasingly likely Love and Thunder will see Idris Elba reprise his role as Heimdall for the first time since 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War.

“Seemingly” Dead — During a recent interview with Comicbook.com about his role as Bloodsport in The Suicide Squad, Elba was asked if he had any kind of a future in the MCU after his Thor character was “seemingly” killed in the opening of Infinity War.

Elba responded by saying, “I think that I'm excited about the possibilities in the DC world. And I think the word of choice to make note of is the word 'seemingly.'"

The actor’s response is far from an official confirmation that Heimdall will be in Thor: Love and Thunder, but his suggestion that the character might not actually be dead — or too far gone to be brought back — does imply that Heimdall’s time in the MCU may not yet be up. This, notably, isn’t the first time there have been hints that Elba will be playing the character again either.

Heimdall’s Rumored Return — Earlier this year, Elba was spotted hanging out in Australia with Chris Hemsworth and several other Thor: Love and Thunder stars while production on the Marvel film was underway in that country. At the time, Elba was also in Australia shooting a new film from Mad Max filmmaker George Miller, but a photo of him with Hemsworth still led many to believe he’d appear as Heimdall in some capacity in the Thor sequel. Elba’s comments this week just add further weight to those rumors.

For what it’s worth, a return appearance from Heimdall in Thor: Love and Thunder fits in well with some of the greater speculation currently surrounding the plot of the film. Specifically, one rumor says Love and Thunder will see Thor (Chris Hemsworth) briefly arriving in Valhalla and running into some characters there who have died in previous MCU films. Assuming that ends up happening, Heimdall makes a lot of sense as one of the characters Thor would see in Valhalla.

Alternatively, Heimdall could be brought back to life at some point in the film. That’s something Marvel has already done for several of its other characters over the years, and it wouldn’t even be that surprising of a twist in a film that’s also set to repair Thor’s hammer.

The Inverse Analysis — As is always the case with these kinds of Marvel rumors, it’s worth pointing out that there’s no way to know for sure how accurate they are until the actual film or TV show in question is released. With that in mind, not only is it possible Elba will return as Heimdall in a future MCU title, but it seems like something the actor himself just teased could happen.

One of the big surprises of Thor: Love and Thunder was the return of Idris Elba's iconic character Heimdall.

Despite being killed off back in Avengers: Infinity War, the Asgardian appeared once again in a post-credits scene for the recent fourth Thor outing.

In it, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) ascends to Valhalla after her sacrifice, and is welcomed by Heimdall following his own demise.

Speaking about his return, Elba told Collider of his character's plans for the afterlife: "Pretty much his whole sort of like arsenal of gifts have been tapped into one way or another. He's all-seeing, you know.

"But he's quite a warrior. We've seen him as a warrior as well, and he has an immortality around him and that would be something that we haven't really explored so that I think may be interesting."

Addressing the possibility of more Marvel appearances down the line, the star added: "Hey, listen, you know, the Marvel world is ever-expanding. You just never know [sic]."

As well as returns, Love and Thunder's post-credits scenes also introduced a new character – more specifically, Brett Goldstein's Hercules in a scene with Zeus (Russell Crowe).

That specific cameo was so secret, even co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson was in the dark up until the movie's premiere.

"I saw that at the premiere with everybody else," she told Variety. "In the same way that I guess Taika didn't know Thor was coming back, I did not know that Roy Kent was Hercules. I'm a huge Marvel fan, so I was delighted to have one moment in the movie where I was truly surprised."

Related: Why Thor: Love and Thunder was never going to feature Loki

She continued: "I knew there was talk about Hercules. The name Hercules was not not said in conversations that I definitely, probably wasn't supposed to overhear, but did.

"So the minute I saw the beginning of the scene, I knew he was gonna be talking to Hercules," she added, admitting she did not know who would be cast in the role.

Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in both US and UK cinemas. The other three Thor movies are available to stream now on Disney+.