We just might be seeing Sam Neill return as “Odin” in the upcoming MCU sequel Thor: Love and Thunder. In 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, Neill was featured in a special appearance as an Asgardian actor playing Odin in a play based on the events of The Dark World. The scene also featured Chris Hemsworth’s brother Luke playing the Thor actor with Matt Damon as the guy playing Loki.
Currently, Thor: Love and Thunder is filming in Australia, and it appears that we’ll be seeing at least one of these actors returning. It’s been reported that Damon is on the set to work on the upcoming sequel, but it wasn’t clear if he’d be playing the same role or a new character. While there’s still no word about Luke Hemsworth, Sam Neill teased that he could also be joining Damon for an appearance in Thor 4.
“I think the odds are reasonably high,” Neill told ET this week when asked about a Thor 4 cameo. “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 and written by Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to be released on May 6, 2022. The sequel serves as a direct sequel to Ragnarok with Chris Hemsworth returning in the lead role. Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, and Christian Bale also star. Guardians of the Galaxy cast members like Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, and Karen Gillan will also be in the movie.
Neill’s return to the MCU is to be determined, but we do know about another role he’ll soon be reprising. The actor recently wrapped up his work on Jurassic World: Dominion, reprising his classic Jurassic Park role as Dr. Alan Grant. In the ET interview, Neill also opened up about his return to the part, detailing how director Collin Trevorrow was very open to letting him contribute ideas along with fellow returning franchise stars Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum.
“Colin Trevorrow, who’s a lovely guy and a really good director, he was very open to suggestions,” Neill explains. “Jeff would come to work with about 50 suggestions that drive us crazy every day, god bless him. I love Jeff, but boy, does he have a lot of ideas! Laura and I would come up with things, as well, and Collin was very open to that. We’ll see how many of those things make it to the cut!”
As for what’s next for Neill, he can be seen in the new comedy movie Rams. Written by Jules Duncan and directed by Jeremy Sims, Rams co-stars Neill with Michael Caton as a pair of estranged brothers competitively raising separate flocks of sheep. When tragedy befalls one of the prize sheep, the brothers must put aside their differences to reunite the family and save the herd. The movie is available to watch in theaters and on-demand on Feb. 5. This news comes to us from ET Online.