'Thor: Love And Thunder' Cast: Chris Pratt To Return As Star-Lord
Chris Pratt, the internet's current least favorite Chris, is joining the much more beloved Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Love and Thunder. Pratt's Star-Lord/Peter Quill will appear in the Taika Waititi sequel, which makes sense since Avengers: Endgame concluded with Thor jetting off with the Guardians of the Galaxy. That said, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 doesn't have an official release date yet, so it's not exactly clear how all of this lines up on the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline.The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Chris Pratt has joined the Thor: Love and Thunder cast, reprising his Guardians of the Galaxy role of Peter Quill/Star-Lord. Pratt joins returning players Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, as well as Marvel newcomer Christian Bale, who is reportedly playing the film's villain (although we don't know which villain he's playing just yet).
Having Star-Lord in a Thor sequel makes sense since Avengers: Endgame had Thor palling around with the Guardians of the Galaxy, and even ended with the character joining the Guardians as they set out in search of Gamora. However, the timeline here is a little fuzzy. There's no official date locked for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but Thor: Love and Thunder is set to open on February 11, 2022. So how does all of this lineup, timeline-wise? I don't know yet, but we'll be seeing Thor: Love and Thunder before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Guardians director James Gunn is working on his Suicide Squad spin-off TV series Peacemaker, so he might not get started on Guardians for a while.
And as of now, Marvel has locked down the following release dates for unannounced films: October 7, 2022, February 17, 2023, May 5, 2023, July 28, 2023, and November 3, 2023. If Love and Thunder holds its February 2022 date, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will arrive in October of that year at the earliest. Anyway, this is all speculation, and we don't even know how big Pratt's role is going to be in Love and Thunder. It might just be a cameo – it certainly wouldn't be the first time one MCU character popped up in another MCU character's movie.
Thor: Love and Thunder will be helmed by Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, and will see Natalie Portman's Jane Foster becoming the Mighty Thor while Valkyrie, the new ruler of Asgard, searches for her queen. Not much more is known beyond that, but Waititi worked on the script with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, writer of this year's Unpregnant.