Zene Baker, co-editor of Marvel's latest blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok, has revealed a favorite gag that sadly didn't make it into the finished movie. The third solo adventure for Asgard's God of Thunder has attracted critical acclaim and financial success since its cinematic release, helping the MCU franchise pass the $5 billion domestic mark and being hailed as a "masterpiece" by none other than Avengers director Joss Whedon.
Although the first two Thor movies did contain several moments of hilarity - the Chris Evans cameo in The Dark World springs to mind - Taika Waititi took Ragnarok is a far more comedic and light-hearted direction than ever before, with Chris Hemsworth in particular given room to stretch the comedic muscles he developed on Ghostbusters. The shift in tone has been generally well received by fans and several actors have spoken positively of the loose and improvisational atmosphere of the Ragnarok set.
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Naturally however, not every gag and comedic beat made it into the finished cut and, speaking with Screen Rant, Thor: Ragnarok co-editor Zene Baker explained one of his favorite cut moments:
"Taika's really great and he likes as much as I do - and Joel Negron the other editor - we all like those little magic moments that can spring up as a result of improv that might not have been reflected necessarily in the script. Trying to think of one example. I mean there's one that didn't make it in the final film and is more of a little character thing that Chris did for Thor that Joel and I fought for [...] and it somehow found its way out and we tried to sneak it back in and never had any success, but there's a scene where Val, he sees Val in the gladiator prep area, where she's drinking the flaming drink and he confronts her and, you know, the guys come to drag him away and in an alternate take as they're dragging him away, Thor is like [pithy voice] "I hate you... I hate you so much." to Val and, you know, that never made it up and Joel and I always really liked that. It was just a funny little character thing and it just never made it in, unfortunately."
Baker's comments seem to confirm just how much freedom actors were given to improvise on the Ragnarok set and this scene certainly sounds like it would've caused a chuckle or two in theaters. The image of the typically powerful Thor being dragged away by his Gladiator buddies like a rowdy drunk in a bar certainly would've raised a smile and also could have deepened the tension between the God of Thunder and fellow Asgardian Valkyrie before their eventual team-up.
With that said, it's also understandable that this scene would've been cut from the final movie. Although the exchange certainly sounds like an amusing gag, there are plenty of other moments on Sakaar that establish the uneasy relationship between Thor and Valkyrie and that develop the bond between Thor and his new friends in the arena. Additionally, Thor's plea for Valkyrie's aid in the theatrical cut of the movie feels genuine and heartfelt and is highly effective without a joke included. Still, it's something to look forward to seeing on the DVD Extras.
