Thor: Ragnarok Star Sam Neill Has No Idea What Thor: Ragnarok Is All About

Early on in Thor: Ragnarok (2017), the eponymous hero (played by Chris Hemsworth) returns to his home planet, Asgard, and catches the end of a rather inaccurate stage production inspired by events from his own life. As a little extra fun for movie viewers, director Taika Waititi cast some familiar faces as the actors: Matt Damon as Loki, Luke Hemsworth as Thor, and Sam Neill as Odin. Neill, ever the seasoned professional, delivers his culminating speech with aplomb—even when describing Loki as “a little blue baby icicle that melted this old fool’s heart”—and the Asgardian crowd responds with enthusiastic applause. All in all, it’s a pretty entertaining fake play. (Well, unless you're Thor.)

As for what happened during the rest of the film, Neill probably couldn’t tell you. In a recent interview with Collider, he confessed to not being “entirely nerdishly [into] the Marvel franchise” and therefore “completely baffled by so many things” in Thor: Ragnarok. He went to see the movie with some slightly more Marvel-savvy friends who were able to answer his questions, such as “Do you know what planet we’re on at the moment?”

“[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,’” Neill said with a laugh. “I shouldn’t really confess to that. I should really know what’s going on.”

He might soon have the chance to fill in some gaps of his Marvel knowledge. According to Movieweb, Neill recently mentioned the possibility that he’ll make a cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder, which is currently filming in Australia. “I think the odds are reasonably high,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “I think Taika’s got something up his sleeve.” Neill, who’s based in New Zealand, did acknowledge that pandemic-related travel restrictions have made the situation more difficult, but they’ll “see if something can be worked out.” Thor: Love and Thunder is slated for theatrical release in May 2022, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

[h/t Movieweb]