Thor: Love and Thunder featured more cameos than you could shake a Stormbreaker at — so many, in fact, that director Taika Waititi had to cut a load from the finished product. But one of those that made it in was doubly meta scene that reenacted the plot of Thor: Ragnarok… while redoing a gag from that same film.
The scene in question was an Asgardian theater production of Thor and Loki’s first encounter with their evil sister, Hela. Luke Hemsworth and Matt Damon returned as Actor Thor and Actor Loki, as did Sam Neill as Actor Odin. Joining them this time around was Melissa McCarthy, who filled in for Cate Blanchett as Actor Hela. Now that the cat is out of the bag on his cameo, Neill has taken to Twitter to share a behind-the-scenes selfie from filming on his second Marvel movie.
The pic sees the Jurassic World: Dominion icon posing with McCarthy, both of them in costume, outside of his trailer on set. “No wonder [Melissa McCarthy] and I get mistaken for [Cate Blanchett] and [Anthony Hopkins] all the time,” Neill joked in his caption. “Dead ringers. Only this morning someone yelled ‘Oy Hannibal! Why’d you eat the fava beans?'”
Love and Thunder marked Neill’s third time working with Waititi after the pair first collaborated on 2016’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople. McCarthy’s quick appearance, meanwhile, which marks her first time in the MCU, was one of the worst-kept secrets of Love and Thunder — although the Oscar-nominated actress made a valiant, if unconvincing, attempt to cover up her cameo.
With Thor: Love and Thunder making a mint at the box office, there’s already talk of a Thor 5. If that does end up happening, here’s hoping the New Zealander turns up again for another cameo and the three films can form an unexpected “Sam Neill Turns Up For 30 Seconds” trilogy.
