Taika Waititi has waded into the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy, the Kiwi director holding a sign in solidarity with Native Americans in the region in a photo with superstar Hollywood actor Chris Hemsworth.
Hemsworth plays the starring role in Thor: Ragnarok, which Waititi has been directing - and the pair are pictured with the placard, which reads 'We stand with Standing Rock'.
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe and their supporters have been protesting the construction of the pipeline, which would travel underneath the Missouri River - their primary water source.
The tribe says the pipeline would not only threaten their regional water supply, but also traverse sacred sites.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Hemsworth explained why he and Waititi were taking a stand on the issue - and also to apologise for appropriating Native American culture in the past.
"Last New Year's Eve I was at a 'Lone Ranger' themed party where some of us, myself included, wore the traditional dress of First Nations people. I was stupidly unaware of the offence this may have caused and the sensitivity around this issue," he wrote.
"I sincerely and unreservedly apologise to all First Nations people for this thoughtless action. I now appreciate that there is a great need for a deeper understanding of the complex and extensive issues facing indigenous communities.
"I hope that in highlighting my own ignorance I can help in some small way."
Hemsworth and Waititi's shared stand on the issue is the second to come from a blockbuster superhero film, after the cast of Justice League banded together in July in support of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
Newshub.
