Staying on top of almost 30 films and an ever-growing list of TV series in the MCU takes enough energy in itself, but throwing a spanner in the logic of it all with a real-world reference to Event Horizon in Thor: Love and Thunder? How can we not get distracted when Sam Neill and Matt Damon are right there onscreen moments after Jane's movie recommendation of their movies? The possibilities of Neill and Damon either having Asgardian actor doppelgangers or quite literally starring in the MCU versions of Event Horizon and Interstellar were all I could think about instead of the plot of Love and Thunder. But Marvel's casual references to movies outside its own cinematic universe create a puzzle for viewers who are already scrambling to keep up with internal in-jokes scattered into each film like flakes down Salt Bae's forearm. They might seem like throwaway lines intended for easy exposition or simply fun. So, if she’s out here recommending Event Horizon do all roads lead to Jane Foster streaming V for Vendetta one night and watching Natalie Portman act? HELP. But Fishburne also famously starred in The Matrix so…could Thor hypothetically sit down on a Friday night with Steve Rogers, watch Neo and Morpheus take on Agent Smith, played by Hugo Weaving, who also played Johann Schmidt/Red Skull from Captain America: The First Avenger, but who also played V in V for Vendetta which he starred in alongside Natalie Portman who PLAYS. Just for fun (and buckle up), Event Horizon also stars Laurence Fishburne, who has also played Bill Foster in Ant-Man and The Wasp and was the voice of Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Meanwhile, go watch "Event Horizon" starring.the guy who we just saw play Odin. He has said in an interview he "never understood any of the Thor films" and was "completely baffled" by his own role in them, so you're in good company. Making this wormhole all the weirder, Interstellar's Matt Damon plays Loki to his Odin!ĭoes this mean Neill is playing himself in Thor: Love and Thunder? Does it mean that "Actor Odin" - as the character is credited - is Human Actor Sam Neill, who just happened to find himself in a fictional Asgardian acting troupe alongside Human Actors Matt Damon and Luke Hemsworth, co-existing between onscreen reality and ours? Don't expect an answer from Sam Neill. Neill, however, also appears in two Thor movies - including this one! In Thor: Love and Thunder, he reprises his role as the other Odin, a member of an Asgardian acting troupe that dramatises events from the previous films. Miller, on a mission to investigate a distress signal from a missing starship. Anderson's cult classic 1997 sci-fi film stars Sam Neill as Captain S.J. Why putting real pop culture in the MCU sucksĪs smoothly as a sudden segue between cinematic universes, this brings us to Event Horizon, the other film Jane Foster recommends watching if you want to truly understand the Bifrost Bridge. If Jane Foster watches and recommends Interstellar and Event Horizon maybe we do get wormhole theory! Maybe. Tony Stark watches Lebowski like we do, co-existing in the same reality. Why Marvel continues to do this is likely a form of relatability among superhero-sized contexts. That proved to be a necessity with Tony Stark throwing around topical insults throughout the Iron Man trilogy and Avengers crossovers.” Angie Han mentioned this too, writing for Mashable of Stark’s “reference to The Big Lebowski, starring Jeff Bridges, whom you'd think Tony would notice is a dead ringer for Obadiah Stane, his mentor-turned-nemesis from Iron Man." “Captain America famously caught up on everything from Nirvana to James Bond following his multi-decade ice-nap. "Referencing real entertainment is nothing new for Marvel," writes Alison Foreman, who dug into this for Mashable for the release of Eternals, which namedrops Lizzo and BTS. Jackson and, yep, Natalie Portman, who've starred in both major franchises. Plus, there are Star Wars mentions in Eternals and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which complicates things for MCU actors Samuel L.
This level of mindfuckery is why adding real pop culture nods - beyond a Stan Lee cameo - to the MCU is always risky business - and Marvel’s been doing it for an age, including a Star Trek reference in Captain America: The Winter Soldier when Chris Hemsworth has appeared in the franchise. What 'Ted Lasso' has to do with 'Thor: Love and Thunder'