Thor: Love and Thunder is fast developing into a sizeable affair, cast-wise. Apart from featuring the returning cast from previous Thor movies, the film will also have Chris Pratt as Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, and now the Daily Mail has published photos of two other Guardians of the Galaxy actors arriving in Australia to begin shooting.

In the photos, we see Chris Pratt being joined by Karen Gillan, who plays Nebula, and Dave Bautista, who plays Draw. Sean Gunn, who provides the motion-capture for Rocket, and portrays Kraglin, was also said to be part of the Guardians entourage. We also know that Pom Klementieff, who plays Mantis, will feature in Love and Thunder. It is still not clear whether the Guardians will be playing a major role in the events of the film, or they will have minor roles in the main narrative that focuses on Thor.

Thor: Love and Thunder seems pretty well-represented on the Guardians of the Galaxy side. The only two major names missing are Groot, who is created entirely through CGI, and Gamora, played by Zoe Saldana. It is the absence of the latter character that is particularly interesting.

Avengers: Endgame ended with the present-day Gamora still dead, while the Gamora who had traveled from the past into the present has gone on the run. The Guardians had resolved to go off into deep space in search of Gamora, and that will presumably serve as the central storyline of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which will take place before the events of Thor: Love and Thunder.

Since Gamora does not appear to be a part of the Guardians in Love and Thunder, does that mean the mission to save her in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will not be successful? Gamora has already died once, so killing her off again seems unnecessary. Could her story end with Gamora renouncing a life of adventuring with the Guardians to settle down into a peaceful retirement on a farm somewhere, much like her father Thanos did after completing his mission with the infinity stones?

While the appearance of the Guardians in Love and Thunder will be a welcome one, it is the role of the main villain played by Christian Bale that fans are most excited about. The actor will play the role of Gorr, the God Butcher, an immensely powerful entity who travels from universe to universe slaughtering every deity he encounters. Even with the help of the Guardians and a female God of Thunder played by Natalie Portman, Thor will have a hard time going toe-to-toe against a villain who has killed countless Gods before him.

Directed by Taika Waititi, Thor: Love and Thunder stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif, Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, and Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. The film arrives in theaters on May 6, 2022. This news comes to us from DailyMail.com.