Thor: Love And Thunder’s Sam Neill Sounds So Confused By The MCU

Sam Neill in Thor: Ragnarok

Fans may be just a little bit disappointed to hear that not everyone who has a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe knows all the inner workings of the franchise. You can’t really be too upset though, because Marvel has delivered over a decade of stories, and that’s just this current adaptation of our favorite superheroes. So we can’t really expect all the Marvel actors to be an expert like Tom Hiddleson. In a more adorable than disappointing development, it would seem that Thor: Love and Thunder’s Sam Neill is kind of (okay, maybe majorly) confused by the MCU.

In a radio interview with Nova’s Fitzy, Wippa and Sarah McGilvray (via Australia’s News.com) Jurassic Park franchise regular Sam Neill admitted that when it comes to the MCU, he has literally no clue what’s going on. The actor revealed that at times, he doesn’t even know what planet he’s supposed to be on in the universe. Here’s what Neill said:

I’ve never understood any of the Thor films, in fact the whole Marvel universe is a complete mystery to me. I mean I was standing beside Jenny Morris (on the set of Thor: Ragnarok) and I said, 'Do you know what planet we’re on?' To be honest I was completely baffled, I came back I was baffled again, I did my bit, I don’t know who are playing who exactly because they are sort of swapping roles.

I mean, you can’t really blame Sam Neill here. Unless you’re familiar with the MCU or are paying pretty close attention to the films, it’s pretty easy to become confused. I can’t speak to the validity of it, but I imagine that being on set of the films is even more confusing, as they shoot scenes out of order and without context at times.

Sam Neill appeared in Thor: Ragnarok as a faux Odin. During one of Loki’s mischievous tricks, he put on a play that depicted a story of Loki’s own death in order to trick everyone into thinking he was dead, but he was, in fact, impersonating his father on the throne of Asgard. Neill played the Asgardian actor who was playing Odin in the play, and he will reprise this odd role in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder, as well as a number of other interesting actors. It’s pretty easy to see where the confusion comes from now, especially when Neill isn’t really a Marvel regular.

While it may be majorly confusing on set of a Marvel film to know what’s going on, and even more confusing if you’re coming back a second time years later (very much like Sam Neill’s situation), the final product comes together pretty epically in the editing room. We’ll be able to see Neill in action as faux Odin again when Thor: Love and Thunder releases on February 11, 2022, and maybe it’ll even make more sense when Neill sees the final version on the big screen.

Carlie Hoke
Content Writer

Constantly thinking about books, coffee, and the existential dread I feel from Bo Burnham’s Inside.  While writing I’m also raising a chaotic toddler, who may or may not have picked up personality traits from watching one too many episodes of Trailer Park Boys.