Obviously spoilers! (Although if you haven’t seen it yet, what are you even doing?)
Matt Damon somehow ‘Jason Bourned’ his way into ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ and those of us with the eagle eye were pretty much bouncing on our seats like idiots and gasping for air when that moment arrived. However, it is incredible how his amazing cameo went mostly unnoticed by many, not because it was not up to the mark, but he blended so damn well with the scene that it was almost camouflage! Still, how could anyone miss him?
What is insane is that Damon did not have a sneaky see-and-miss cameo but had a full-fledged appearance involving a scene from a play, where all eyes were literally on him. STILL, the audience was clearly so engrossed with the movie that they glazed over who was in the scene. Did YOU catch his cameo? Or are you in the glorious club of those who missed it?
The scene came pretty soon into the movie, when Thor comes back to Asgard and witnesses a weird picture unfolding as his oh-so-noble father Odin is behaving in a very odd manner. Surprise! Turns out it was Loki (no, he is not dead from ‘Thor: The Dark World’) disguised as Odin and watching a play where his ‘supposed death’ was being honoured. This is where Damon makes his entrance, as he plays Loki complete with the green-gold outfit and greasy black wig.
Two other A-list cameos were also part of this silly yet absolutely brilliant scene, as a weepy, emotional Thor crying over the dying body of Loki was portrayed by Chris Hemsworth’s own brother Luke and Odin by played by Sam Neill.
I remember sitting in the hall and losing my mind watching this incredible scene unfold before my eyes as I practically stuffed my fist into my mouth to stop myself from fanboying. I mean it was so out of the blue and it was MATT ‘effing DAMON for heaven sake!
However, I was absolutely dismayed by the total lack of reaction by the audience. Although, I did hear a few expletives from somewhere in the back. I even poked the dude next to me saying, “dude that’s Matt Damon!” and he had the nerve to ask me, “really? Are you sure? Oh yaaaah”
Anyway, the scene set the perfect tone of hilarity in the opening moments, from where the plot unfurls perfectly. The ‘real’ Thor realises that the ‘real’ Loki is alive and that the ‘real’ Odin has been exiled, and thus the story begins.
Full points go to the ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ team for keeping the amazing cameos under wraps for such a long time. Pretty sure everyone was threatened with their lives in order to keep this secret iron-clad bound.
Hollywood Reporter quoted screenwriter Eric Pearson saying that he had no clue about the casting decision until July, after which he was practically sworn to secrecy.
“It was one of those, ‘Don’t tell your wife. You cannot tell anyone.’ [Marvel exec] Brad [Winderbaum] took me over to the side, and showed me the picture [of Damon] in full costume and I lost my mind,” he said.
So now, if you have missed the cameo, you know what to do. First, bang your head against the wall real hard for being an ignorant fool and then go watch it again. Seriously!