Thor: Love and Thunder might have been a divisive movie among fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but one of the best elements was the presence of India Rose Hemsworth, star Chris Hemsworth’s actual daughter. In the film, India Rose Hemsworth plays Love, the daughter of the movie’s main villain Gorr the God Butcher. By the end of the film, Love is resurrected thanks to the cosmic being Eternity and is raised by Thor. Thor has adopted Love and is now raising her as a new father figure, something made sweeter by the fact that the pair are played by a real-life father and daughter.

Recently there has been a great deal of talk about Hollywood nepotism, particularly among the children of popular actors becoming movie stars themselves. While India Rose Hemsworth certainly has a role in Thor: Love and Thunder because of her father, the part is not likely to set up a long-term acting role for her in future Marvel movies or even the first steps to an acting career like her parents (but it always could). The young star’s role in Thor: Love and Thunder is a more meaningful one for her and the entire Hemsworth family.

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Thor Is a Family Affair

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Thor: Love and Thunder is very much a family affair for many in the production. India Rose Hemsworth isn’t the only part of Chris Hemsworth’s family to appear in the movie. Not only does Chris’ brother Luke Hemsworth reprise his role from Thor: Ragnarök as the Asgardian actor playing Thor in the play, but Chris Hemsworth’s wife Elsa Pataky even cameos in the film early on as a wolf woman who was one of Thor’s past romances. Pataky previously appeared as Natalie Portman’s stand-in for the end credit scene of Thor: The Dark World as the actress was unable to appear due to scheduling conflicts.

The Hemsworths aren’t the only family to get in on the fun. Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, and Taikia Waititi’s kids all cameo as the children of New Asgard. The design of Thor’s shadow monsters is actually created from the drawing of kids from the production, as they were asked to design what a nightmare would look like. India Rose Hemsworth’s presence in Thor: Love and Thunder is just one small piece of the larger family presence behind the scenes in the MCU story.

Refreshingly Not a Setup for a Future Film (At Least Not Yet)

     Marvel StudiosDisney

One point many people both love about and get frustrated with the MCU is how they feel like setups for other projects, sometimes coming at the cost of the current film. Love being resurrected by Eternity and given new cosmic powers may hint at her becoming the MCU version of Captain Universe yet with no official announcement for Thor 5 or any plans for the character that is all theory. For now, Love just symbolizes a moment in Thor’s character arc. The spoiled prince audiences met back in 2011’s Thor is now a father, taking on adult responsibilities.

If Love does appear again, it is likely the studio will recast the role similar to how they got a bigger star to play Cassie Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. This will likely be because if Love does play a larger role in the franchise they will want a more established performer, and also Marvel Studios likely doesn’t want to lock the daughter of one of their most long-term stars in a contract. Hemsworth likely does not want to thrust his daughter into acting or the public spotlight just yet and the role in Thor: Love and Thunder was just a fun little cameo for father and daughter to spend some extra time together.

Symbolizes How Far Chris Hemsworth’s Career Has Come

India Rose Hemsworth was born in 2012, one year after the release of Thor and the same year The Avengers came out and her father became a Hollywood superstar. Chris Hemsworth’s Hollywood career can be tracked alongside his time in the MCU as the god of thunder. In the years since Hemsworth’s career and personal life have grown and changed. When he was first cast as Thor in 2009, he was a relative unknown with his biggest role American audiences knew was his brief part in Star Trek. Many of the films he had made like Red Dawn and The Cabin in the Woods were held from release due to MGM’s financial issues. He had yet to even meet his eventual wife Elsa Pataky and certainly had no kids.

In the years since Hemsworth has become a major movie star, not just as Thor but in critically acclaimed films like Rush and as a comedic actor in Ghostbusters: Answer the Call. He has become an international sex symbol. Most importantly he has become a father. Like Thor, Hemsworth is not the same man he was when he first joined the MCU and has grown quite a bit. He has had an incredible journey and in Thor: Love and Thunder he gets to share the moment with his daughter, one who has been there since this crazy adventure began.