Thor: Love and Thunder’s Taika Waititi Admits He Didn’t Know Hercules Was a Marvel Character

Thor: Love and Thunder was released in theatres last month, and it saw many returning cast members as well as Thor: Ragnarok director, Taika Waititi. There were also some franchise newcomers in the film, including Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher and Russell Crowe as Zeus. At one point in the movie, it seems as though Thor (Chris Hemsworth) got the best of Zeus and killed him, but the character survived and popped up again in the first post-credits scene. The moment also featured the exciting reveal that Ted Lesso star Brett Goldstein will be the MCU’s Hercules. During a recent Q&A shared on Reddit, Waititi admitted they he did not know Hercules was a Marvel character.

“I didn’t even know that was a character in Marvel, but, apparently it is,” Waititi shared. “It was good. I know it’s opening up a whole new thing, which I won’t be invited to come and be a part of, but I’m happy for everyone who loves Greek Gods.”

It was recently revealed that Goldstein sought out advice from his Ted Lesso co-star Hannah Waddingham about being in Marvel. In an interview with Variety, Waddingham revealed Goldstein asked for guidance before signing on to play the demigod. “He said to me, ‘I’ve been offered this thing and was wondering if I should take it?’” Waddingham shared. “I went, ‘Are you mental? Are you having a little bit of a moment?’ He was like, ‘Why?’ I went, ‘Are you seriously thinking you might not play Hercules for like three seconds?’” Unbeknownst to Waddingham, Goldstein secretly accepted the role. She recalled, “I was like, ‘You cheeky bastard!’”

Currently, it’s unclear what Goldstien’s future holds in the MCU. “I truly, honestly — this isn’t me lying or being coy — I know nothing,” Goldstein recently said. “All I know is what I did that day and that’s it. That could be it. It was a fun three seconds.”

In another interview, Waititi revealed Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige handpicked Goldstein to portray the live-action version of Hercules. “Kevin really wanted him to do it, and yeah, Brett’s amazing. He’s great,” Waititi told Uproxx. “And I don’t know if that’s to do with Thor, or if it’s to do with how that will develop. Because, obviously, Hercules, there’s a character from the books as well. And so, yeah, this will be interesting to see because Kevin, he’s obviously the mastermind of all of these threads and how they’ll tie up and how they meet, mix and match. So I’m curious to find out myself.”

Thor: Love and Thunder is still playing in theaters.