Sam Neill Was Baffled by Thor: Ragnarok Despite Being in the Marvel Sequel
Thor: Ragnarok broke many new grounds for the MCU. Maverick filmmaker Taika Waitiit brought a lot of his personal style into the film, which included brief cameos by Matt Damon, Luke Hemsworth, and Sam Neill as a troupe of Asgardian actors. In an interview with Collider, Neill admitted he was not able to completely follow the plot of Thor: Ragnarok when he went to watch the movie with friends.
“I’m not really entirely nerdishly [into] the Marvel franchise. I was completely baffled by so many things. I went with friends who sort of knew a bit more than me. I was like, ‘Do you know what planet we’re on at the moment? Is that Hopkins or was that Loki?’ And they were explaining it, they said, ‘You’re in the film! Why do we have to explain it to you?’ I said, ‘Because I’m a bit lost. I’m truly lost here.’ I shouldn’t really confess to that. I should really know what’s going on. [Laughs] It is a strange – it looks like Tony Hopkins, but it’s not!”
Ragnarok was not the first time that Neill had worked with Waititi. The two had previously collaborated on Hunt for the Wilderpeople. In a past interview, Waititi had revealed that casting Sam Neill as an Asgardian actor playing the role of Odin in a play written by Loki made the movie feel like a more personal project for the filmmaker.
“That was just through contacts. If Loki was gonna write a play about his death, then he would want to get the most talented actors he could, the biggest stars of Asgardian theatre, to come and do this thing. And incidentally, is it the first film since Jurassic Park that Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill have both appeared in the same movie? This is cross-universe stuff here… “You know, I often put in a lot of my actors from my other films… that for me makes it more of my film. It makes me feel more grounded, and a bit more relaxed.”
It was recently revealed that Matt Damon will be reprising his role in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder. Fans want to know if Neill will also return to the franchise, perhaps this time putting on a play about Thanos’ invasion of Earth. Previously, Neill had teased the possibility of a cameo, provided things work out in terms of travel lockdown restrictions.
“I think the odds are reasonably high. I think Taika’s got something up his sleeve. We will see what happens. Travel between [New Zealand] and Australia is problematic at the moment, but we will see if something can be worked out.”
Directed by Taika Waititi, Thor: Love and Thunder stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif, Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Dave Bautista as Drax, Karen Gillen as Nebula, and Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. The film arrives in theaters on May 6, 2022. This news first appeared at Collider.
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