Thor: Ragnarok's fake Odin actor Sam Neill says he was truly lost while watching Taika Waititi's movie for the first time. Chris Hemsworth's Thor is one of the original Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it wasn't long ago his solo franchise appeared to be nearing its end. That all changed when Marvel Studios brought Waititi aboard to direct Thor: Ragnarok. The franchise went in a mostly new direction and essentially soft rebooted the Thor series.

While Thor: Ragnarok featured some familiar characters from the franchise and the MCU at large, it brushed off what appeared to be major pieces of set-up for its story. One of the prime examples of this came with how the film addressed Loki's end in Thor: The Dark World. The prior film saw Loki begin posing as Odin so he could rule Asgard, and that mystery was thought to be an element that would be central to what happened next. Instead, Waititi tossed aside that mystery almost immediately and had Thor force Loki to reveal his lie, while Odin remained on Earth in exile. This didn't just surprise and confuse the Asgardian population, though.

Related: Thor: How Loki Was Able To Trick Odin (Despite Him Being More Powerful)

Sam Neill had a small role in Thor: Ragnarok as an Asgardian actor playing Odin in a play version of Thor: The Dark World. This play was the backdrop of the Loki-Odin reveal, but it turns out that Neill didn't understand what was going on when he finally saw the film. He said as much during an interview with Collider, noting how confused he was about whether the character in the scene was Odin or Loki.

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!

Thor holds Loki disguised as Odin in Thor: Ragnarok

Even though Neill was somewhat involved with the scene that confused him, it is understandable why he was lost. He admits that he's not entirely engrossed in the MCU, so it's quite likely he never saw Thor: The Dark World. Without knowing that Loki switched places with Odin before, there'd be no way to make sense of what was happening right away. Plus, this is the only scene Neill is in, so he definitely didn't have access to Thor: Ragnarok's entire script to understand the full plot. It's even likely that he wasn't on set the entire time the theater location was used.

Neill's confusion while watching Thor: Ragnarok shouldn't matter in the long run. In fact, the fake Odin actor has teased a return for Thor: Love and Thunder. There's no guarantee that Neill will show up once more, but it sounds like Waititi has an idea to use him again - as long as Neill can safely travel to Australia during a global pandemic. If he does, hopefully Neill won't be as confused with what happens when he gets to see the final product.

MORE: Love & Thunder Is Ragnarok 2, Not Thor 4

Source: Collider

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