Melissa McCarthy Denies Love & Thunder Hela Role Despite Set Photos

Melissa McCarthy recently denied her role as Hela in the highly anticipated MCU film Thor: Love and Thunder despite her appearance in set photos.

Despite set photos of the actor, Melissa McCarthy recently denied her involvement as Hela in the upcoming film Thor: Love and Thunder. The highly anticipated MCU Phase 4 movie will follow the titular hero as he picks up the pieces of his life after the events of Avengers: Endgame. With Thanos defeated but Thor’s home world destroyed, the god searches for a new direction in life in what director Taika Waititi has called Thor’s mid-life crisis. However, when Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) sets out to destroy all gods, Thor must team up with King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Waititi), and his former flame Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) to defeat him.

Last year, photos taken on the Thor: Love and Thunder set revealed that McCarthy will play a role in the superhero film. In the set images, the comedian was dressed in an outfit that resembled Cate Blanchett’s Hela, the villainous older sister of Thor from Ragnarok. The photos indicate that McCarthy will star in a scene in the upcoming movie featuring a reenactment of the events of the previous film akin to what was seen in the third God of Thunder movie.

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In a recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (via ET), McCarthy jokingly denied her appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder despite clear photographic evidence to the contrary. When asked by Fallon if she could say whether or not she is in the upcoming film, McCarthy jokingly responded, “You know what that was? That was me going to my cousin Dawn’s bridal book party. That’s [how] you dress to go to a bridal book party.” When pressed again by the late-night host, the comedian cheekily answered, “If that is even me. But if it is, that was at Dawn’s house.“

The set photos clearly show McCarthy and her husband, writer-director Ben Falcone, filming Thor: Love and Thunder. Dressed as Hela, complete with the horned headpiece, she stands next to fake Thor played by Luke Hemsworth, Chris Hemsworth’s brother. Luke also played the actor version of Thor in Thor: Ragnarok in a similar reenactment scene. The images, coupled with her listing on IMDb as Actor Hela, plainly indicate her involvement in the upcoming film.

Although McCarthy understands that her role in Thor: Love and Thunder is no secret, she continues to deny her cameo appearance in jest, possibly to make light of the strict NDAs Marvel actors have to sign when they are hired for an MCU film. The Amazing Spider-Man‘s Andrew Garfield continued to deny his inclusion in the film Spider-Man: No Way Home despite the fact that a clip from the film was leaked that clearly showed Garfield in costume talking to Tobey Maguire. Thor: Love and Thunder is shaping up to be a film full of returning characters and cameos. McCarthy’s casting as an actor portraying Hela, similar to Matt Damon’s appearance as Loki in Thor: Ragnarok, fits right into Waititi’s brand of comedy and may prove to be an excellent callback for Thor fans.

Next: Thor 4: Melissa McCarthy’s Fake Hela Should Set Up Real Villain’s Return

Source: ET

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