Have you missed Thor? The Asgardian God and the Incredible Hulk were absent from last year’s critically-acclaimed “Captain America: Civil War”, but rest assured that these 2 heroes will be taking back the spotlight in “Thor: Ragnarok”.
As you may know, Thor has made some new friends this time around. He’s also slightly funnier, but more importantly, he has a freaking new haircut! Instead of his familiar long blonde hair, actor Chris Hemsworth is now sporting a modern buzz cut with dark hair.
While “Civil War” saw the Avengers being split into 2 opposing sides (#TeamIronMan vs #TeamCap) when dealing in the fate of the world’s politics, “Ragnarok” will centre on a far bigger universe. If there’s one thing the Marvel franchise has benefited from the “Thor” movies, it’s how the world of Asgard has been conceptualised into a wider frame for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
For Thor’s latest solo adventure, fans will get to see old favourites – the mischievous Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston), the all-seeing Heimdall (played by Idris Elba), and Odin (played by Anthony Hopkins). The forthcoming film will also introduce new characters: Hela (played by Cate Blanchett), a Grandmaster (played by Jeff Goldblum), and Valkyrie (played by Tessa Thompson).
The synopsis of “Thor: Ragnarok” is as follows:
“In Marvel Studios’ ‘Thor Ragnarok’, Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok, the destruction of his home world and the end of Asgardian civilisation, at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela. But first he must survive a deadly gladiator contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger, the Incredible Hulk!”
There’s no doubt that the stakes for our beloved heroes are now higher than ever. Ahead of its release, we’ve decided to shed some light on what moviegoers can expect from Marvel’s next blockbuster. Here are some exciting fun facts about “Thor: Ragnarok” and its characters:
1. The real reason Thor didn’t show up in “Civil War”
For those that don’t remember, Thor was given a glimpse of the future during the events of “The Avengers: Age of Ultron”. In it, he saw that many cosmic plot devices were united under one powerful Infinity Gauntlet, which will eventually lead to the destruction of Asgard. It has been confirmed that “Ragnarok” will take place 2 years after “Age of Ultron”.
“The journey he’s been on at the beginning of this movie, it’s not like 5 minutes after ‘Ultron’ ends we start this movie: it’s a couple years later. And as we know, at the end of ‘Ultron’ he’s started this quest to find the puppet master, and the Infinity Stones, and all that. What he realised really fast– I don’t think I’m giving too much away because it’s right at the top of the film, but basically that 1 quest, that universe-ending peril that he was trying to figure out dovetailed or branched off into any number of universe ending-perils that he’s been adventuring on for the 2 years leading up to the beginning of this film,” producer Brad Winderbaum told Screen Rant.
In other words, Thor was busy chasing after Thanos all around the cosmos, with little or no success, while the rest of Marvel’s heroes were feuding during “Civil War”.
2. “Ragnarok” will incorporate elements from the Planet Hulk storyline
The last time we saw Hulk in “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, the Green Goliath was flying off in a Quinjet by himself. It’s likely that the Hulk ends up in Planet Hulk’s Sakaar because of The Grandmaster. Like many fans, we are also interested to watch the square off between Hulk and Thor in the gladiatorial tournament. Moviegoers will also get the chance to see Hulk in his classic one-shoulder armour as seen in the “Planet Hulk/ World War Hulk” comics.
While trapped in Sakaar, Thor is forced to become a gladiator and battle his Avengers frenemy Hulk (played by Mark Ruffalo). “(Sakaar is) basically where every wormhole across the universe dumps out its trash, so you get people from all walks of life with all sorts of incredible abilities and powers. No one cares what prince or king Thor may have been in another world,” Hemsworth explained. “Also, his strength is pretty easily matched with those he finds himself amongst.”
3. Meet one of the oldest living beings in the universe, The Grandmaster
The Grandmaster (real name: En Dwi Gast) is one of the Elders of the Universe, and is also the brother of The Collector (played by Benicio del Toro). As “one of the oldest living beings in the universe”, Marvel’s Wiki states that “the Grandmaster has spent his extraordinary long life in pursuit of amusement through the playing of games. He has traveled throughout the known universe studying many civilisations’ forms of games and play to the point of mastering them. He then began to devise his own types of tournaments and contests, challenging various opponents to games of skill and chance for high stakes.”
4. Thor and Jane Foster are no longer a couple
Since the first moment Thor set foot on Earth, Jane Foster has been his main love interest. Last year, Oscar winner Natalie Portman announced that she was done with the “Thor” franchise and won’t be moving forward with Marvel. It was previously discussed that since “Ragnarok” will be set largely in the cosmos, having a Jane subplot would be impractical. Perhaps her absence will make way for a new leading lady?
5. Does this make Thor and Valkyrie the new couple?
When word first broke out that Tessa Thompson would be making her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Valkyrie aka Brunnhilde, many assumed that the warrior would be Thor’s new lover. For the uninitiated, Valkyrie is an Asgard warrior who works for The Grandmaster. But we know she eventually teams up with the God of Thunder to take down Hela and possibly stop the impending apocalypse that has been teased in the film’s title. So maybe we’ll get to see sparks fly.
Speaking of the female villain…
6. Hela is the Goddess of Death
Besides Loki, the MCU has had an underwhelming track record of forgettable villains. That could very well change when the terrifying Hela is accidentally unleashed from prison. As the Asgardian Goddess of Death, Hela not only wields power over the dead souls of the Nine Realms, she also has the special ability to generate weapons directly from her body. No one in their right mind would want to get on her bitchy side.
Cate Blanchett revealed that she became well-versed in her villainess character by turning to the comic book backstory. “There are so many iterations of the origin story. For any of these characters, there’s never 1 origin story. Most of the time she was masked. So that’s what I really talked to the Marvel team about was when we would chose to have her masked and when she wouldn’t be masked,” the Oscar-winning actress was quoted as saying.
Seeing as how powerful Hela is, there’s no doubt that Thor is going to need help from some friends.
7. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three will appear
Although Lady Sif and the Warriors Three – Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral – have been completely missing from the trailers and promo campaign so far, fans can rest assure that the quartet will appear at some point during the movie. While producer Brad Winderbaum has been tight-lipped on all the details, he did confirm the appearances of Thor’s besties in July. Not to damper your mood, but there has been speculation that the foursome might meet their inevitable deaths.
8. Is Doctor Strange going to lend a hand too?
We’re not 100% certain on this but he was featured in the Japanese trailer (seen above). Those of you who stayed back to watch the post credits scenes after “Doctor Strange” would remember the meeting between the good doctor and Thor in the Sanctum Sanctorum. In the clip, we saw Strange agreeing to aid Thor in his search for his missing father, Odin.
Similar to Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, it’s likely that that the Sorcerer Supreme has been intentionally missing from the “Thor: Ragnarok” Western marketing in order to make his cameo fun. Hopefully the film will be able to utilise Doctor Strange just right.
9. Director Taika Waititi is playing Korg
Here’s a little tidbit that will excite comic book fans: It was revealed in April that Taika Waititi would be taking on the role of an alien named Korg. The 8-feet tall giant rock warrior may look intimidating in appearance but he’s actually super friendly and helpful. In the movie, Korg befriends Thor and also explains how the society operates on planet Sakaar. In describing the Kronan race, Waititi explained, “They are very endearing, but you don’t want to f**k with them.”
10. Heimdall and the final Infinity Stone
Of all the deaths that are likely to happen, Heimdall seems to be at the top. The reason is simply because of the final Infinity Stone, which is the Soul Gem, could be in his possession. His ability to “see souls” through time and space has been explained in the past. If the theory is true, there’s no way Heimdall would give up the precious Soul Stone without a fight. That might result in him dying in a blaze of glory.
You can read the full theory here.
Enjoy the comic-con trailer:
“Thor: Ragnarok” will smash its way into theatres on 3rd November 2017.
For more information, hit up the movie’s website and Facebook page.
Sources: Screen Rant (1)(2), /Film, Movie Web/ Featured image: Marvel.
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