FIJ

First of all, please note that I’m delusional and this should be taken as a collection of cool little details and theories, not as a definitive proof that the mf will be back in the next game. You never know of course, but don’t let me set you up for disappointment. 

So. Weirdly enough, Heimdall seems to have parallels with, you’ll never guess it, Garm. Kratos’ confrontations with them go very similarly: he is put against them because of Atreus, who persuades Kratos not to kill them, attempts at pacifying them go poorly, and Kratos does kill them after all. By choking them. Both lie on their sides afterwards. 

While Kratos and Atreus are chasing Garm, his appearances are followed by Atreus asking about the spear, or them discussing Heimdall - it’s a constant back and forth. And, as far as I remember, Garm is the only boss in the game, apart from Heimdall himself, that uses the spear as a mandatory gimmick. 

Garm’s ability to make realm tears made me wonder why we never see Heimdall travel by Bifrost. We see regular einherjar soldiers do it, but Heimdall only travels with Hugin. Why? He’s supposed to be the closest to Bifrost, be able to use it in its full capacity and then some. Is he being restricted, or is it just a minor plot inconsistency? Either way, Garm’s realm tears could have paralleled Heimdall’s Bifrost, especially when in some interpretations the mythological Heimdall is the personification of Iggdrasil - the man is THE realm travel. I guess the gow version is still a master of realm shifts. And Bifrost’s guardian. 

What I’m getting at with all that Garm deal is that if this parallel is not something that I just clowned myself into and is a legit thing, then shouldn’t Garm’s resurrection and his transformation into Fenrir be foreshadowing for Heimdall’s return? Or not, and the parallel is only about Atreus carelessly causing something, which Kratos then ends. I really don’t know.

Then again, the situation with another pair of wolves, Sköll and Hati, happens because Heimdall steals the moon holding relic from Helheim. Their episode is followed by his, as well as the fight with him happens right after you summon Sköll to clear a path into Heimdall’s boss arena. A bit too much coincidental plot intersections involving Heimdall, legendary wolves and Helheim for my taste. 

Another thing that could be a sign that we’ll see at least a little bit more of him is Odin’s unresolved question about what happens to gods after death. We don’t know ‘where they go, when they go’ which definitely calls for a plot point in Atreus’ game. He asks about the afterlife a lot, which foreshadows Brok, yes, but perhaps it is not only about him, and is hinting at the boy’s future endeavors. 

And, my personal favorite - the gow 2018 horn mystery. Full clown makeup here, but I think it would be cool if that was Heimdall, somehow. Giants called him “ᚺᛟᚱᚾᛒᛖᚱᛁ” (“horn bearer” in my sloppy translation) on Atreus’ mural, and he was prophesied to sound Gjallarhorn to open all paths and start Ragnarok. He didn’t get to, as we all know. But you see, the Giants seem to have this tendency of being right even when they are wrong. The prophecy said that Tyr, the god of war, will unite the realms and lead the armies against Odin. Tyr didn’t get to, but Kratos, another god of war, did. The prophecy said that Atreus’ father will die in his hands. Kratos didn’t, Odin, the All-Father, did. 

If Heimdall was meant to sound the horn, perhaps he will, perhaps he did. When Jörmungandr is called with the horn, the water drops, revealing new paths. Kratos was carrying Atreus to Freya, and was going to Helheim (again with the Helheim, I swear) afterwards to get what they needed to save him. If it was really Heimdall back then sounding the horn, then that falls right into what the prophecy said: sound the horn, open the path (water drops after the serpent moves, Kratos gets to their cabin and back to the temple much faster), start Ragnarok (save Atreus, who’s always the one that puts the events leading to it into motion - Baldur’s death, Sköll and Hati chasing his arrow, Kratos fighting Heimdall and getting Gjallarhorn, which then calls Surtr… you get it). Plus, there’s definetly a mural behind him on his promo, so idk maybe it’s not THAT far of a reach. He has to have this mural there for something, right?