Avengers Infinity War: Did you spot this unexpected CAMEO? Voiced Asgardian distress call

Warning: mild spoiler for Avengers Infinity War ahead.

As the Marvel ident flashes up at the very start of the blockbuster, we hear a distress signal being made from aboard the Asgardians’ ship.

The assumption may have been that it was Idris Elba’s Heimdall, but it was actually – according to numerous reports – Kenneth Branagh.

This has not been officially confirmed but per ScreenRant, he says: “This is the Asgardian refugee vessel Statesman… We are under assault. I repeat, we are under assault.

“Engines are dead. Life support failing. Requesting aid from any vessel within range…

“Our crew is made up of Asgardian families, we have very few soldiers here. This is not a warcraft. I repeat, this is NOT a warcraft.”

Branagh, of course, has big significance to the MCU: he directed Thor’s first outing back in 2011.

That scene aboard the Grandmaster’s ship is the first we see in the intergalactic movie, and results in two fairly quick deaths of familiar, regular characters – on top of all of the nameless Asgardians.

What exactly happened to the likes of Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie remains to be seen.

Thompson joked about her absence on Twitter earlier this week: when someone asked about her whereabouts, she quipped: “they are at the bar … ?”

The likes of Hawk-Eye, Ant-Man and the as-yet-unseen Captain Marvel are also expected to be added to the mix in Avengers 4, which is out next year.

What’s more, it’s thought that Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts will suit up as Rescue once more – after the actress revealed herself to be in a motion-capture suit late last year.

After the shocking ending of Infinity War, absolutely anything is possible in next year’s as-yet-untitled sequel.

Avengers: Infinity War is out now.