Disney and Marvel appear to be very confident about Thor: Ragnarok, with the film's embargo scheduled to lift earlier than usual. Directed by Taika Waititi, the upcoming film is expected to bring some significant changes to the Chris Hemsworth's Marvel Cinematic Universe's sub-franchise. From the stunning and vibrant visuals to the lighter tone of the project, the movie looks a realm away from the first two Thor outings.
Despite the more casual approach of Waititi brought about by the film being mostly improvised, it is dubbed as one of the most important films of the MCU thus far; its events will have direct implications on next year's culmination film, Avengers: Infinity War. Within its own sub-franchise, it will subject Thor and the rest of Asgard under its most dangerous and formidable foe in Hela. With Odin nowhere to be found, leaving his home planet vulnerable to threats, the God of Thunder would have to resort to his own capabilities (unfortunately, without the Mjolnir) and hopefully, with the help of his newfound team, The Revengers, he might be able to stop the Goddess of Death from her universe-altering plans.
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Disney and Marvel seem to be on board with whatever Waititi and Hemsworth came up with the threequel, with distributor and studio showing great confidence in the project. Press junkets are set for next week, almost a month in advance, and the review embargo has been pushed forward to Thursday, October 19, 9 am PST - two weeks before the film actually hits theaters.
Disney and Marvel's decision to lift the embargo two weeks before the film specifically is an indication that they're pleased with Ragnarok and are confident enough that it will be a hit with critics. The film is already running full pelt, with an amazing marketing campaign, but stellar reviews would tip hype over the edge.
As a gauge, The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier had similar timeline cushion and both turned out to be critical and box office success. The only time that embargo was removed for more than two weeks was with last year's Captain America: Civil War, which had a three-week lead time. The film likewise got across-the-board positive reviews and made over a billion dollars at the box office.
Hemsworth himself said that it was a personal decision for him to come up with something different in what would probably be his last Marvel standalone film. Big risks could yield bigger pay-offs, and from the looks of it Tho: Ragnarok is tracking to gain huge returns not just for the Australian actor but for Marvel and Disney as well.
