Melissa McCarthy, when asked about her appearance in ThorLoveAndThunder, jokingly denied that she was in the upcoming MCU movie despite set photos that make it quite clear otherwise.
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.
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.
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.