Let's talk about those Thor: Love and Thunder post-credits scenes

Warning: This story contains spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder.

Sure, Thor's iconic outfit may be sleeveless, but the ending of Thor: Love and Thunder proves that the Asgardian hero still has a few surprises up his sleeve.

Taika Waititi's candy-colored, neon-drenched space opera is the fourth Thor entry, once again following Chris Hemsworth's hero as he faces down new villains and old traumas. Hemsworth stars alongside Natalie Portman's hammer-wielding Jane Foster, Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, and Waititi's Korg, ending with a climactic showdown between our heroes and Christian Bale's Gorr the God Butcher.

But this is a movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which means that Thor: Love and Thunder can't just end: It also has to look ahead. The film has not one but two end-credits scenes, with appearances by a few familiar faces.

Here, EW breaks down both of Thor: Love and Thunder's end-credits scenes — and what they might mean for Thor's future. (Major spoilers ahead!)

End-credits scene #1: A godly introduction

Early in the film, Thor and his allies learn that Gorr is targeting gods throughout the universe, so they travel to the kingly realm of Omnipotence City to ask for help from Zeus (Russell Crowe, rocking a tiny tennis skirt and a questionable accent). Thor ultimately defeats and humiliates Zeus, and the first end-credits scene finds Crowe's god out for revenge.

Nursing his wounds, Zeus muses that "being a God used to mean something," and he's upset by how people worship superheroes now, instead of the deities they used to revere. Soon, we see who he's speaking to: Ted Lasso star Brett Goldstein, who's revealed to be playing Hercules.

Like his father Zeus, Hercules is an iconic figure who looms large in pop culture, but he also has a long history in the Marvel universe. Thor co-creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first brought Hercules into Marvel comics in 1964, and over the years, the Greek hero has regularly faced off against his Asgardian counterpart. He's flickered between being an antihero and a hero, and he's often been depicted as a member of the Avengers. (Marvel's Zeus and Hercules aren't to be confused with DC Comics' versions of the same heroes — or the Disney animated Hercules. Still, now I need to see Goldstein sing "Go The Distance.")

It remains to be seen how Goldstein's Hercules will fit into the larger MCU, but the Ted Lasso actor is a welcome addition to its growing pantheon. The British actor has earned raves for his role as the glowering Roy Kent in Ted Lasso, and he recently won an Emmy for the show.

Love and Thunder also continues Marvel's recent pattern of using end-credits scenes to drop bombshell casting announcements. Eternals introduced pop icon Harry Styles as Eros In a similar way, while Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness also marked the debut of Charlize Theron as the doctor's love interest, Clea.

As for how all these new characters fit into Marvel's next chapter? We'll have to wait and see.

End-credits scene #2: Welcome to Valhalla

Love and Thunder reveals that Portman's Jane Foster has been battling cancer, and while Thor's hammer Mjolnir gives her extraordinary powers, she still succumbs to her illness, dying in Thor's arms.

The second end-credits scene shows Jane arriving in Valhalla, the heaven-like realm reserved for Asgardian warriors who die in battle. There, she's greeted by Idris Elba's Heimdall, who was killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.

The scene itself is short and sweet, but it's a nice tribute to Jane's heroism — especially since Valhalla is usually reserved for gods, and Jane is a mere human. It also gives a bittersweet tone to her struggle with cancer: Sometimes the most heroic battles aren't on the battlefield but within ourselves.

Thor: Love and Thunder is in theaters now.

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• Taika Waititi teases Thor: Love and Thunder as Thor's 'midlife crisis' film
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• All the secrets and details of the Thor: Love and Thunder trailer, from Zeus to Jane Foster