Yesterday came with a very, very early Christmas present as Entertainment Weekly revealed the first look at Marvel’s upcoming, highly anticipated Thor: Ragnarok. After months and months of waiting, we now have our first look at what the God of Thunder has been up to since he flew off at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron to find out what’s going on in the universe with the Infinity Stones.
Along with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, the images reveal Tom Hiddleston’s mischievous Loki, Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk-less Bruce Banner, and the new additions to the MCU, Cate Blanchett’s Hela, Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, and Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster. Oscar-winner Blanchett plays the villainous Hela, the Goddess of Deathwho has been imprisoned for millennia, and the images showcase her complete badass-ery as she looks like a much better version of Elizabeth Banks’ Rita Repulsa in the upcoming Power Rangers.
Tessa Thompson, who had a breakout role in Ryan Coogler’s Creed, will be taking on the role of Valkyrie, a very tough, elite warrior who is known throughout the cosmos, as EW reveals in their rundown of Ragnarok‘s plot:
Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), a tough, hard-drinking warrior hiding out on Sakaar brings the god to the Grandmaster. “Thor is a bit of a fanboy for the Valkyrie, the elite women warriors,” Hemsworth says. Thor is then forced into becoming a gladiator, which leads to his haircut and the loss of his trusty hammer.
Finally is Jeff Goldblum as Jeff Goldblum. Just kidding. Goldblum will be seen in the quite colorful get-up of the very Goldblum-appropriate Grandmaster, one of the Elders of the Universe. In EW’s rundown of Ragnarok‘s plot, they not only reveal what Thor has been up to in his absence, but details about how Loki, Hela, and Grandmaster play into the story:
When we last saw Thor, he was flying off to figure out who was manipulating the Avengers at the end of Age of Ultron. Eventually, he hears rumblings of trouble in Asgard: His evil brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), has been impersonating their missing father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Loki’s rather lax governing leads to the reemergence of an imprisoned Hela (Cate Blanchett). Thor’s initial encounter with Hela gets him blasted to Sakaar, a barbaric planet ruled by the charming but nefarious Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum).
While on the topic os Sakaar, it’s worth mentioning that that’s where Thor and Hulk first meet (again) in the movie. After Thor is “blasted” to the gladiatorial planet, he is thrusted into the world of gladiators where Hulk has become the most popular “champion” of the games. Ruffalo, who will be co-lead alongside Hemsworth, says Ragnarok gives his character much more to do, as he “is much more of a character” than the Green Goliath we’ve seen through the Avengers movies so far. Once we see the two mighty characters face-off in an inevitable showdown, they eventually team-up, escape Sakaar, and begin what could be described as an intergalactic road trip, buddy cop style.
Director Taika Waititi said he sees his film – in many ways – as a soft reboot for the Thor franchise:
“A lot of what we’re doing with the film is, in a way, kind of dismantling and destroying the old idea and rebuilding it in a new way that’s fresh. Everyone’s got a slightly new take on their characters, so in that way, it feels like [this is] the first Thor.”
As for the images, The one thing that pops out at everyone when first glancing at them is the use of color. Thor movies in the past have had color, but nowhere near this as it bares extreme resemblance to Guardians of the Galaxy. And in comparison to the more recent Captain America: Civil War, which was very grounded and… civil, the color debuted in these first look images is almost a guarantee that director Taika Waititi is bringing something new – humor and story – to the MCU, which many would say is needed for this specific Marvel franchise.
While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 looks even better than its predecessor, this has easily been the Marvel movie I’ve always been looking forward to in 2017. Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters November 3rd, 2017 and stars Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, Tessa Thompson, Idris Elba, and Anthony Hopkins.
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