Jaimie Alexander explains why Thor: Ragnarok is missing Sif

A lot of familiar faces return for Thor: Ragnarok, the third solo outing for Chris Hemsworth‘s Asgardian Avenger in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One who is not is Lady Sif, even though she’s been a figure in Thor and its sequel, Thor: The Dark World. Jaimie Alexander recently revealed why and, as is typical with actors juggling multiple projects, it all comes down to timing.

“I was asked, but the timing of when they were going to shoot and when Blindspot was gonna shoot — it was pretty much the same time,” Alexander told Yahoo Movies, noting her NBC series’ production schedule. “So there was a conflict there. I was hoping for more of a notice from [the studio] so I could make it work, but it was a short notice thing. They called and said, ‘Hey, by the way, would you come do this?’ I said there is no way I can make that work that fast.”

She “tried,” the Blindspot star continued, but “it couldn’t happen. They were on a different continent.” She added, “So it was sad. I was bummed about it.”

When Marvel released the first image from Thor: Ragnarok — a piece of concept art highlighting Cate Blanchett’s Hela — fans were disappointed to see Alexander’s name missing from the cast list. She replied to one of them on Twitter, writing, “Don’t worry 😉 ….” Sadly, it wasn’t in the stars for this one.

Thor: Ragnarok gets its name from the end of days in Norse mythology. By impersonating his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), on the Asgard throne, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) inadvertently brings about the return of Hela, the Goddess of Death. She makes quick work of Thor, shattering his hammer and knocking him through space to the planet Sakaar, where he finds his “friend from work,” Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) fighting in a gladiatorial arena.

Also featured are Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, once an elite warrior for Asgard; Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, who’s running the place on Sakaar; and Karl Urban as Skurge, a henchman of Hela.

Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige addressed Sif’s absence earlier in an interview with Collider. “If she had been on Asgard, she might not be alive, so that’s one of the advantages,” he said.

Alexander mentioned how she’d love to return as Sif if the occasion called for it. “I love Marvel. I’d be happy to do other projects with them at any time,” she said. “They’re a great company — I love all the guys and girls over there — they always are able to get a really fun cast for almost every project they have, which is often. And, of course, who doesn’t want to be a superhero?”

Thor: Ragnarok opens in theaters on Nov. 2.

Thor: Ragnarok

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