Apparently 'Thor: Love and Thunder' left these 2 fan favorite MCU stars on the cutting room floor

Peter Dinklage may have prepped Thor for a star-powered scorch with one of Avengers: Infinity War’s funniest lines, while Jeff Goldblum pretty much tossed out one ridiculous zinger after another in Thor: Ragnarok. But aside from sharing past screen time with Asgardian lightning rod Chris Hemsworth, there’s something else the pair of MCU actors now has in common — and it might come as a minor disappointment for fans ready to check out Thor: Love and Thunder this upcoming weekend.

Thanks to a recent interview reveal from Marvel movie newcomer Christian Bale, it looks like both Dinklage and Goldblum teamed up with director Taika Waititi to reprise their previous MCU roles for Love and Thunder, recording scenes that Bale described to Spanish-language website Prensa Escario as “beautiful, brilliant stuff.” But, Bale explained, neither actor’s work managed to make it into the finished product.

“I got to work with Peter Dinklage. That's not in the final film, but he's fantastic,” said the former Batman actor, who’s making his MCU debut as main Love and Thunder villain Gorr the God Butcher. “I got to work with Jeff Goldblum — he's not in the final film either,” Bale added. “As you see, lots of stuff ends up on the cutting room floor even though it’s beautiful, brilliant stuff.”

As fans likely know, Dinklage played forgemaster Eitri in Infinity War, abused and abandoned by Thanos on Nidavellir until Thor comes along in need of his smithing services to fashion the mighty axe Stormbreaker. Crafting the axe requires Thor to jump-start the forge’s stellar power source, though, prompting Eitri to throw up a serious red flag: “You're about to take the full force of a star. It'll kill you!” Staying totally on brand, Thor shrugs it off by muttering “Only if I die” in dismissal, forcing Eitri to get hilariously literal. “Yes…that’s what killing you means,” Dinklage stammers in bewilderment.

Goldblum, meanwhile, rolled out a rude red carpet of preening humor in Thor: Ragnarok, presiding over the gladiatorial reunion between Thor and Hulk as the self-absorbed Grandmaster of the trash planet Sakaar. He’s the kind of guy who keeps the masses happy by spending major moolah on the universe’s schmaltziest parties, taking advantage of Hulk’s short-lived visit long enough to claim him as his bread-and-circuses blood sport’s newest champion. Worst of all is the icky state of his party ship, which has the Revengers (almost) gagging after they steal it and start wondering just what kind of parties Grandmaster must’ve thrown on it.

As for Bale’s Love and Thunder role, suiting up as a Marvel villain proved way less work than nailing all the heroic nuance of his iconic trilogy of Dark Knight performances for DC. “It’s the easiest job,” Bale confessed. “It’s easy playing a villain, because everyone’s fascinated with the villain. Playing the hero — that’s the toughest job.”

If Bale’s theory is right, that means all the good-guy heavy lifting will be left up to Hemsworth and the rest of Love and Thunder’s superhero cast. Riding the power surge of Thor’s latest team-up with the Guardians of the Galaxy gang, the film features Guardians stars Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, and Pom Klementieff. Also starring are Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Natalie Portman as former flame Jane Foster, plus Marvel first-timer Russell Crowe as Zeus.

Keep a close eye on the skies: Thor Love and Thunder arrives in theaters on Friday, July 8.

Thor: Love and Thunder is one of many big blockbusters expected to light up the box office this summer. Jurassic World Dominion is out now, and Jordan Peele's sci-fi horror mystery Nope opens July 22 in theaters.