Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi has properly explained why Odin's (Anthony Hopkins) death changed in the film. Ragnarok took the character of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) into a radically different direction, and fans were largely impressed by Waititi's colorful take on the God of Thunder. Not only did Ragnarok take away Thor's home, hair, and hammer, it also took away his father Odin. In the film, Odin dies a relatively peaceful death after being sent to Earth by Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in the previous film. Odin gets one final moment with his two sons before fading away and ascending to Valhalla. This allows his banished daughter Hela (Cate Blanchett) to return and attempt to reclaim her throne.

However, Odin's death originally wasn't that simple. An alternate version of the scene saw Thor and Loki stumbling upon Odin in a New York City alley. They're able to have a brief conversation before Hela arrives, far earlier than she does in the actual film. The most drastic change to the sequence pertains to Odin's cause of death; this time, Hela outright stabs and kills him. It's a far more jarring and violent death, and one that Waititi once said was changed because it made audiences feel too sorry for Odin.

Related: Thor: Love And Thunder Concept Art Reveals New Asgard

Now Waititi has expanded on why Odin's death was changed for the final film. During an Instagram Live where he watched Ragnarok (and talked to guests Tessa Thompson and Mark Ruffalo), Waititi explained the scene was changed largely because they needed to set up Norway as a potential location for New Asgard. He also reiterated the audience's reaction to Odin's original death. Waititi's full comments are below:

If you saw the trailer, there's a scene where Odin dies in New York. For various reasons we wanted to get them out of New York and set up this place for Avengers: Endgame. We wanted to seed this location earlier to set up Asgard's new home. Also, the test audiences felt bummed out about Odin dying next to trash and garbage in an alley.

Odin sits with Thor and Loki in a green field in Thor Ragnarok

Both versions of Odin's death have their pros and cons. The original version establishes Hela as a formidable villain right from the start and also provides a brief opportunity for Hela and Odin to actually interact. However, the version from Ragnarok is more poignant and offers Odin the chance to say a proper goodbye to his sons. It's hard to say exactly which option for Odin's demise is better, but it's probably fair to say that Waititi had two solid options at his disposal.

Waititi will return to the Marvel universe with Thor: Love and Thunder, which was recently moved from November 2021 to February 2022. Fans are eager to see what he'll do with Thor next, especially since Love and Thunder will introduce the Jane Foster iteration of Thor with Natalie Portman. If Love and Thunder turns out anything like Ragnarok, fans are likely going to be very, very pleased.

More: Tony Stark Is Still Alive In Fake Thor: Love and Thunder Script Page

Source: Taika Waititi/Instagram

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