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THOR: RAGNAROK
Starring Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner / The Hulk), Cate Blanchett (Hela), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Karl Urban (Skurge), and Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Stephen Strange) with a special appearance by Stan Lee
Directed by Taika Waititi
Produced by Kevin Feige
Written by Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, and Christopher Yost
Music By Mark Mothersbaugh
Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures
Run Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes
World Premier: October 20, 2017, the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, California
Opening Weekend Box Office: $122 million (North America)
Worldwide Box Office: $853 million
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
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Memorable Thor: Ragnarok Quotes
“There were two things we knew Thor had to do. One was [to] be a completely different person at the beginning and end of the movie. And two, embrace the sides of Chris Hemsworth that were underutilized in our movies before. Which is that he’s not just a handsome guy, muscly guy. He’s also a really funny guy.” – Brad Winderbaum discussing the creative process of Thor: Ragnarok
“Thor used to just be a thing. But now Thor is you. So maybe we lose the cape. And lose the hair. And lose the hammer. And embrace the pure character of Thor …” – Kevin Feige pitching Thor: Ragnarok to Chris Hemsworth on the set of Avengers: Age of Ultron
“We never even considered doing Planet Hulk, because, as cool as we thought the comic was, Bruce Banner is not a part of Planet Hulk. We went so far as to change the Age of Ultron script because of [the internet rumors]. One of Joss [Whedon]’s early drafts had Hulk, in a Quinjet, heading out of the atmosphere. At the end, Nick Fury is talking to Widow. She asks, ‘Any sign of him?’ And he says, ‘We lost signal when it went past Saturn.’ So, when Joss delivered those pages that had [Hulk] going into Space, I went, ‘Joss, we can’t do this. People are gonna think we’re doing Planet Hulk. Just say he got lost and you can’t find him past the Fiji Islands or something.’ Even in visual effects, where Hulk looks up [in the Quinjet], there were times where it started to look like stars and we went, ‘No, put blue sky in there.’” – Kevin Feige on his initial reactions to the premise that The Hulk would leave Earth near the end of Avengers: Age Of Ultron.
“Break Mjolnir. Odin is gonna die. We’re going to Sakaar, or some weird planet. There will be a Hulk fight. We’re cutting Hemsworth’s hair. Thor will lose his eye. And we wanted to use Hela, Skurge, Grandmaster, and Valkyrie. Those were things that would stay in the script no matter what.” – Eric Pearson recalling the agreed-upon creative outline for Marvel Studios’ third Thor film.
“I just desperately wanted to do something different, and my instinct was that [the audience] wanted that, too.” – Chris Hemsworth discussing his feelings heading into Thor: Ragnarok following Avengers: Age of Ultron.
For Ragnarok, I thought ‘Yeah, I want to see Thor and Hulk sitting on a bed and talking about emotions and stuff’; things that no one would ever really think to write into a script. We’re all used to the action. And we love it, and we appreciate it. But I think audiences just really want to be surprised. And when you see The Incredible Hulk dressed and walking around – or naked and walking around – and not smashing everything, just eating a pumpkin or something, it’s so odd. And I thought people would just sort of accept it because it’s so weird.” – Taika Waititi discussing his vision for Thor: Ragnarok.
“I knew Banner fairly well, but I still didn’t know The Hulk. He was a mystery to me. When we get into Ultron, there’s that scene where Wanda Maximoff puts the juju on him, where he’s berserking. What is he afraid of? It’s Banner. The only thing in the Universe that Hulk is afraid of is Banner.” – Mark Ruffalo
“There’s something cool about Cate that mirrors Hela in a way. Hela’s won all these battles in the past and has been a great conqueror on the battlefield. And Cate has won all these Oscars and has been a conqueror in the world of acting. It’s like, ‘Okay, I’m just gonna have fun because I don’t have anything to prove.’ And I think it’s the same thing for us with Hela, where it’s like, ‘Yeah, Hela, you don’t have anything to prove. You are a queen. And I also agree with you. You were built as a killing machine and then swept under the carpet. And now no one knows who you are.’ I’d be pissed off, too.” – Taika Waititi explaining why Cate Blanchett as Hela was ideal casting.
“I had fun with big, popular movies before, the dinosaur movies and the Independence Day movies, but [Thor: Ragnarok] was particularly delicious.” – Jeff Goldblum
“It feels as close, to me, as reading a [Jack] Kirby comic that happens to be moving and two-hours-and-thirty-minutes long. And I think the fans need this film because the world is so sad right now. You need to be able to laugh and smile and enjoy your escape from Earth instead of being reminded that it’s shit. I’m really happy that we’ve given this to them, because I do believe this is the film they didn’t know they needed.” – Taika Waititi describing his pride in Thor: Ragnarok
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Fun Thor: Ragnarok Facts
On October 28, 2014, Marvel Studios held an impromptu Phase Three Slate announcement event during which Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced that the third Thor film would be titled Thor: Ragnarok, which was given a July 28, 2017, release date.
On February 9, 2015, Marvel Studios announced that a deal had been reached with Sony Pictures to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Spider-Man would debut in Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Civil War in the Spring of 2016 and would then appear in a solo film produced by Marvel Studios that takes place in the MCU. This deal prompted Marvel Studios to give Spider-Man: Homecoming the July 28, 2017, release date that had been previously slated to Thor: Ragnarok while Ragnarok was moved to November 2, 2017.
In Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Age of Ultron, released in the Summer of 2015, several members of The Avengers are subjected to haunting visions by Wanda Maximoff. These visions tapped into the respective fears and shortcomings of each character via peers into their pasts or futures. These visions were full of Easter eggs that would pay off in future films. Thor’s vision offered a glimpse into the debauchery that had befallen Asgard following Loki’s seizing of the throne, which Thor was oblivious to. Heimdall labels Thor a “Destroyer” while lightning bolts can be seen emanating from Thor’s body that turns those surrounding him into dust when the lightning strikes them. This teases events seen in both Thor: Ragnarok and 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. In Ragnarok, Thor learns that he does not need Mjolnir to channel lightning and sees him willingly unleash Surtur upon Asgard, fulfilling the apocalyptic Prophecy of Ragnarok. Infinity War meanwhile revolves around Thor’s war with Thanos, culminating in the God of Thunder’s failure after not “Going for the head”, which allows Thanos to erase half of all life throughout the Universe with a Snap that renders his victims to dust.
Nearly one year after the Thor: Ragnarok announcement, Marvel Studios announced the hiring of Taika Waititi to direct Thor: Ragnarok on October 22, 2015.
Thor: Ragnarok commenced filming on July 4, 2016. Filming took place in Australia. Filming wrapped on October 28, 2016.
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At the 2016 San Diego Comic Con, Marvel Studios aired a short film titled Team Thor directed by Taika Waititi and starring Chris Hemsworth, Daley Pearson, and Mark Ruffalo. The film was presented in a mocumentary format with an emphasis on humor as Thor discusses his absence during the superhero Civil War and his quest for the Infinity Stones. Team Thor was intended to give audiences a preview of the new direction Marvel Studios would be taking the character in. Whether Team Thor was canon to the MCU or not was initially debated, but Thor: Ragnarok showed that the events of Team Thor were not canon as Bruce Banner was off-Earth following the Battle of Sokovia. The film was included as a bonus feature on select copies of the Captain America: Civil War Blu-ray. A sequel to Team Thor titled Team Thor: Part 2 was released on February 14, 2017, as a special feature on the Home Media release of Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange. A third short film titled Team Darryl was released as part of the Thor: Ragnarok Home Media release. The third film featured Jeff Goldblum reprising his role as Grandmaster.
Also, at the 2016 SDCC, Marvel Studios revealed Thor: Ragnarok concept art which featured a memorable shot of The Hulk facing off against Surtur.
In Thor: Ragnarok, during The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard, a past event is mentioned in which Loki transformed Thor into a frog. This transpired in the comics during Walter Simonson’s legendary run on Thor. Four years later in Marvel Studios’ Loki series on Disney+, a Frog Variant of Thor made his MCU debut.
In Thor: Ragnarok, while casually strolling through Odin’s trophy room / weapon’s vault, Cate Blanchett’s Hela comes across a Golden Infinity Gauntlet that appears to be boasting all six of the Infinity Stones. This Gauntlet actually made its MCU debut in 2011’s Thor and can be briefly seen during the Frost Giants’ mission to steal the Casket of Ancient Winters. At the time, the Infinity Gauntlet had been placed within Thor as a mere Easter egg for Marvel fans, but during the time since that film, the mythology of the Infinity Stones had expanded exponentially within the MCU, to such a point that the Infinity Gauntlet being on Asgard was a major contradiction to the MCU narrative. Hela therefore labels the Gauntlet in Odin’s weapon’s vault as a “fake”, and her dismissal of it lets viewers know that she is not bluffing. She ends up passing the Tesseract, which does actually house an Infinity Stone, and though it gives her pause, she dismisses it as well, which suggests that perhaps she thought it too was a fake. Hela was most interested in the Eternal Flame anyway, but had she taken the time to further explore the Tesseract, she could have used it to travel to the other worlds she wished to conquer and would’ve had no need of Heimdall’s Bifrost Sword.
In Thor: Ragnarok, The Grandmaster’s tower features statues of his former champions. Each are familiar to Marvel Comics readers: Beta Ray Bill, Man-Thing, Ares the God of War, and the Bi-Beast. Man-Thing would make his formal MCU debut in 2022’s Disney+ Special Presentation Werewolf by Night.
In Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi’s Korg utters the MCU’s first reference to Vampires. Two years later, at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con, Marvel Studios announced that a film based on vampire / human hybrid Blade was in active development.
Thor: Ragnarok featured Stan Lee’s 17th MCU cameo. He is the man who cuts Thor’s hair on Sakaar.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
The mid-credits scene of Thor: Ragnarok pays off The Other’s threat to Loki on behalf of Thanos in The Avengers that promised a reckoning should Loki fail the Mad Titan. In losing the Battle of New York, Loki did just that, and the massive warship that approaches the ship containing what is left of Asgard is Sanctuary II. Loki’s day of reckoning has arrived!
Odin’s lies are a common theme throughout the character’s MCU arc. Odin often kept select truths from his people, claiming that he did so for their own good. Amongst Odin’s more notable lies were his keeping the truth about Loki’s true heritage from Loki and Thor, his keeping the truth pertaining to the power of the Infinity Stones from the Asgardian people, his keeping the truth concerning worlds outside the known Nine Realms from his people, his keeping the truth concerning Surtur’s supposed death from his people, his covering up of his more dubious acts in building the Asgardian Empire, and his covering up of the fact that his daughter Hela ever existed at all.
Loki’s look in Thor: Ragnarok is based off the character’s appearance in Al Ewing’s excellent Loki: Agent of Asgard comics series.
Thor: Ragnarok features Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song, which was also featured in the film’s trailers. This song references the Vikings and their gods.
Cate Blanchett’s Hela was the first female lead villain in a Marvel Studios film. This version of the Goddess of Death boasted elements of two other Marvel characters in addition to her own. The first being Gorr the God Butcher, who was prominently featured in early issues of Jason Aaron’s Thor: God of Thunder series. The other is Angela (created by Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane) for Image Comics. Angela was brought into the Marvel Universe in 2013 and was revealed (like Hela in Ragnarok) to be Odin’s daughter / Thor’s sister. Gorr the God-Butcher would make his MCU debut five-years after the release of Ragnarok as the primary villain in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder.
In Norse Mythology, Hela is the daughter of Loki.
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In Norse Mythology, Ragnarok is an actual prophesied event that foretells the Fate of the Gods and the Destruction of Asgard.
On July 22, 2017, Marvel Studios presented what was their ninth panel at San Diego Comic Con. The panel included Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, Director Taika Waititi, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, and Rachel House. The first full trailer for Thor: Ragnarok was presented to fans in Hall H.
Thor: Ragnarok was the ninth highest-grossing film of 2017, and one of an unprecedented three Marvel Studios films to place amongst the Top-10 highest-grossing films in a given year along with Spider-Man: Homecoming and Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Two. Thor: Ragnarok was also the highest-grossing film of Marvel Studios’ three Thor movies.
On January 15, 2018, at the NAACP Image Awards, Idris Elba won the Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. On August 12, 2018, at the Teen Choice Awards, Chris Hemsworth won the Award for Choice Sci-Fi Movie Actor.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
My Thor: Ragnarok Review
Thor: Ragnarok marked a huge change to the cinematic presentation of the Thor character. I was super stoked to see Hela and Surtur and Fenris come into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and to get caught up with characters such as Loki and The Hulk. I really loved the trailers to Ragnarok and this was my most anticipated film of 2017, and it was worthy of every bit of the hype. I loved Thor: Ragnarok!
The changes to the Thor character were not subtle, but I thought they were all positive. Chris Hemsworth was able to flex his comedic muscle and I found this to be Marvel Studios’ funniest film at the time of its release. I liked that Hemsworth was able to be funny while not being turned into a joke. Specifically, Thor finally rose above Loki’s tricks and schemes in this film and that was a positive change for the God of Thunder after being regularly deceived by the God of Mischief in their first three films together. Meanwhile, there was a lot of character development for Thor throughout this film. There were not only the things he lost (Mjolnir, Odin, his hair, his eye, Asgard itself), but there were things he gained, such as an honest relationship with his adopted brother that was built on mutual respect, new friends in Valkyrie, Korg, and Miek, and of course, the Asgardian Throne. When we first met Thor in 2011’s Thor, he was anxious to be King and was in fact about to be until Loki sabotaged his coronation ceremony. Since that time, we have seen Thor wrestle with his destiny to be King of Asgard. He decided in Thor that he wasn’t ready for the throne, then in Thor: The Dark World, he outright refused it. In Ragnarok, we saw Thor at long last embrace his destiny, and this was great to see. I also want to commend Chris Hemsworth’s chemistry with the rest of his cast, as the more humorous approach certainly worked to the benefit of that.
The Hulk was one of my favorite parts of this film, and going in, I was really excited to see Gladiator Hulk! Gladiator Hulk was a featured part of Greg Pak’s 2006 Planet Hulk comic book series. This is my favorite Hulk story as a comic book fan, as it did so many cool things with the character. Having The Hulk stranded on an alien planet and enslaved as a Gladiator was a very unique change for the character, but boy, did it ever work! The sight of a helmeted Hulk wearing armor and wielding weapons and shields just screamed “badass” and it was so amazing to watch him fight The Red King and bond with his “Warbound.” Planet Hulk introduced Korg and Miek and saw The Hulk fall in love and become the Warrior King of Sakaar en route to fathering a child. Despite its tragic end, it was a riveting story that set-up a great follow-up in the World War Hulk Event Series. Both Planet Hulk and World War Hulk come highly recommended from yours truly, and there was also an entertaining Planet Hulk animated film produced by Lionsgate in 2010 that is well worth a watch. And while I’m on that subject, I also recommend the 2009 Hulk vs animated film which sees Loki and Amora the Enchantress conspire to unleash The Hulk upon Asgard. Really fun stuff!
So yeah, I was pretty much transported back to my childhood when that first trailer unveiled Gladiator Hulk as Thor’s opponent in The Grandmaster’s arena. A live-action Hulk had never looked better in my opinion! Thor: Ragnarok gave us a lot more of great Hulk stuff beyond the Hulk vs Thor fight though! I loved the childlike Hulk angle they took with Hulk actually speaking and expressing emotion beyond rage. The Hulk was actually funny in Ragnarok and that was a monumental change! Mark Ruffalo put more of himself into The Hulk than we’d ever seen up to that point, and that was a change for the better in my opinion. I also loved Hulk’s showdown with Fenris and his frustration with not being allowed to fight Surtur!
Ruffalo was also great as Bruce Banner during the film. Just as quirky and awkward as ever, but also funny and almost charming at times. There was a moment between Banner and Loki that reigns as one of my favorite Banner moments (Bruce’s reaction to Loki’s “It varies from moment-to-moment line”), and Ruffalo had outstanding chemistry with Hemsworth’s Thor as Banner.
Speaking of Loki, there were some really wonderful things done with the God of Mischief in this film. It is in Thor: Ragnarok that Loki begins to flirt with the idea of actual change. Loki has reigned as King of Asgard in the guise of Odin for 4-years when we catch up to him in this film, and he has made Asgard over in his own image while allowing the Nine Realms to fall into chaos. Anthony Hopkins was delightful during his scenes as Loki, and it was a dream come true to see Loki share the screen with Doctor Strange in the MCU! Hiddleston stole Odin’s death scene for me with the subtle sincerity in his eyes and that look of both surprise and pride when Odin expresses his love. Hiddleston continues to shine during those early scenes on Sakaar. He is wonderful in his scheming and mocking, but never better than the sheer joy he cannot help himself from expressing when The Hulk does to Thor in the arena the exact same that Hulk did to Loki atop Stark / Avengers Tower in The Avengers!
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Where things get truly interesting for Loki however is when he is outsmarted by Thor. The God of Thunder saw the God of Mischief’s latest betrayal coming from a mile away. Thor not only espouses his admiration for Loki, but also teases that he is ready to cut the string. Thor uses Loki’s own heart against him, basically calling Loki’s bluff before outwitting him in typical Loki fashion. Thor’s expressed doubt that Loki could ever change inspires Loki to do just that and Loki goes on to defend Asgard alongside Thor against all odds and for no personal gain. Of course, the God of Mischief ultimately can’t help himself from confiscating the Tesseract, but what I love from the end of Ragnarok is Loki’s sincere endorsement of Thor as King. This was something Loki had been unable to do from the first time we met him in 2011’s Thor, and at long last the son that wanted the Throne too much no longer felt the need for it, and the son that wouldn’t take it was now willing to do so with pride and nobility. Both of these characters had come such a long way, and at the end of the day, both were admired heroes of the Asgardian people!
Next, let’s discuss Hela. My comic book fandom of Hela is mostly rooted in Kieron Gillen’s amazing Journey into Mystery run that began in 2011. Loki was a child in that story, as was Hela and rather than explain how or why, I will just recommend that you check out this series for yourself. It is truly great!
Hela was full-on adult in Ragnarok and there were plenty of changes made to her character from the comics, but all I really cared about was how she performed as an adversary, and I think Cate Blanchett knocked it out of the park! I loved Hela’s headpiece and black and green costume. I loved her arrogance as well as her conviction. She was so very repulsed by all things Odin, and I think truly hurt that he’d erased her from history the way that he had. Hela was carrying a lot of jealousy and a lot of rage into her return home and all of that came through in her performance. Just recapping what Hela was able to do in this film is staggering. She destroyed Mjolnir with her bare hand, she casually murdered The Warriors Three (Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg), she singlehandedly conquered the Einherjar Army, and she ripped out Thor’s eye. She was a big deal, and despite being a fan of The Warriors Three, I thought their quick demises at her hand went a long way toward showing just how dangerous Hela was. And let us not forget, that she also wiped-out all but one of the entire Valkyrie Army in days past. Hela was a very worthy adversary for Thor, whose only way to best her was through the unleashing of Surtur and seeing to it that the Prophecy of Ragnarok was fulfilled.
Surtur was pretty awesome here! I loved the look of Muspelheim and the fun little debate Thor had with the Fire Demon King at the beginning of the film. Thor’s battle with Surtur, Fire Demons, and the Fire Dragon to the tune of Immigrant Song at the beginning of Ragnarok is one of my favorite Thor moments ever put on film. It was so awesome and satisfying as a Thor fan!
There was so much more I loved about Ragnarok! Jeff Goldblum was a godsend as Grandmaster. He was just so very funny and so very entertaining and so very charismatic. He was basically being himself as Grandmaster and it was perfect casting for what was trying to be accomplished with Sakaar. The Grandmaster was sort of creepy and sort of awkward and really out of touch with things, and this was probably more so due to arrogance than it was ignorance. The “Lord of Thunder” and the sparkly fingers and his musical passion things were great, I loved the execution of his cousin, and all the things between him and Topaz and Valkyrie were really fun!
I also want to mention how good Thor: Ragnarok LOOKED as a film! It was bright and colorful and vivid, and the spaceships and the costumes all looked amazing. The music went well with everything too, and a lot of credit should go to Taika Waititi for both his unique vision and outstanding direction.
At the time of its release, Thor: Ragnarok was nothing less than my favorite movie of all-time! I just loved everything about it!
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
Highlights of Thor: Ragnarok:
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Tom Hiddleston is Loki
Cate Blanchett as Hela
Gladiator Hulk
Hulk vs Thor
Opening Thor vs Surtur Scene
Hulk vs Fenris
Anthony Hopkins as Loki Pretending to be Odin
Taika Waititi as Korg
Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster
Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie
The Death of Odin
Midgard Scenes with Thor, Loki, and Doctor Strange
Chemistry Between Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston
The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard
Chemistry between Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo
Korg and Miek
Humor
Extremely High Stakes
Enhanced Mythology Relating to the History of Asgard
Hela Crushes Mjolnir
Hela Discards Fake Infinity Gauntlet in Odin’s Treasure Room
Hela Rips Out Thor’s Eye
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Notable MCU Concepts and Characters Introduced:
Hela. The Time Before Odin’s “Great Beginning.” Fenris. Valkyrie. The Grandmaster. Skurge. Surtur. Korg and Miek.
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