Marvel Studios’ Phase 3 will continue exploring the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – a side that has already been introduced with Guardians of the Galaxy and further teased in Ant-Man with the Quantum Realm/Microverse. For instance, the next big Marvel release, Doctor Strange, will introduce the Sorcerer Supreme, followed by the return of everyone’s favorite space misfits in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The third Thor solo movie, Thor: Ragnarok, will also explore this side, but don’t expect it to be like its predecessors Thor and Thor: The Dark World.
A lot has been said about the tone Ragnarok will take, going from darker than The Dark World to more of a buddy-style comedy featuring Thor and Hulk, but in Marvel fashion of being ultra-secretive, nothing has been revealed yet. It’s still soon for Marvel to reveal any plot details, but director Taika Waititi recently opened up a bit and shared that Ragnarok will definitely be different than what we have seen before.
In an interview with Polygon, Waititi revealed the story has gone through many changes but it will definitely feature “buddy elements” between the two Avengers absent in Captain America: Civil War: Thor and Hulk. Still, it’s hard to say what the overall tone of the movie will be:
“It’s hard to say what the movie is because it’s changing. The plot has changed and the script has changed. There are buddy elements to it between Thor and the Hulk, but who knows what the final movie will look like.”
Waititi went on to say this might be the “most different Marvel movie to date and one of the biggest,” adding that he probably couldn’t have done it without Kevin Feige’s trust and hands-off approach as executive producer. The director also shared he feels like a guest in the well-established MCU but with “the creative freedom to do what I want.”
In addition to the cast from Thor’s universe that we already know, such as Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Heimdall (Idris Elba), and Odin (Anthony Hopkins), the God of Thunder will be joined by badass warrior Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), mysterious villain Hela (Cate Blanchett), double-bladed axe-wielding villain Skurge (Karl Urban), The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), and fellow Avenger Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).
Notably absent are Earthly-characters Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård), but considering that Ragnarok will spend little to no time in Midgard, it’s not a crazy idea that they won’t be around this time. Thor: Ragnarok is currently filming in Australia, so fans will still have to wait a bit longer for Marvel to finally reveal some plot details that could give us a clearer idea of what to expect from Thor’s darkest adventure to date.
Doctor Strange opens November 4, 2016; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – May 5, 2017; Spider-Man: Homecoming – July 7, 2017; Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017; Black Panther – February 16, 2018; Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 – May 4, 2018; Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6, 2018; Captain Marvel– March 8, 2019; Avengers: Infinity War Part 2– May 3, 2019; and as-yet untitled Marvel movies on July 12, 2019, and on May 1, July 10, and November 6 in 2020.
Source: Polygon