Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2011's Thor and 2013's Thor: The Dark World, and is the seventeenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Taika Waititi from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and the writing team of Craig Kyle and Christopher L. Yost, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor alongside Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins. In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor must escape the alien planet Sakaar in time to save Asgard from Hela and the impending Ragnarök.

Plot[]

Two years after the battle of Sokovia,^{[N 1]} Thor is imprisoned by the fire demon Surtur in Muspelheim, who reveals that Thor's father Odin is no longer on Asgard. He explains that the realm will soon be destroyed during the prophesied Ragnarök, once Surtur unites his crown with the Eternal Flame that burns in Odin's vault. Thor frees himself, defeats Surtur and takes his crown, believing he has prevented Ragnarök.

Thor returns to Asgard to find Heimdall gone and his brother Loki posing as Odin. After exposing Loki, Thor forces him to help find their father, and with directions from Stephen Strange on Earth, they locate Odin in Norway. Odin explains that he is dying and Ragnarök is imminent despite Thor’s efforts to prevent it. He then reveals his passing will allow his firstborn child, Hela, to escape from a prison she was sealed in long ago. Hela was the leader of Asgard's armies, conquering the Nine Realms with Odin, but Odin imprisoned her and wrote her out of history after he feared that she had become too ambitious and powerful. Odin dies as Thor and Loki watch on, and Hela appears, destroying Thor's hammer Mjolnir. She pursues the two as they attempt to flee through the Bifröst Bridge, forcing them out into space. Arriving in Asgard, she defeats its army and kills the Warriors Three. She then resurrects the ancient dead who once fought with her, including her giant wolf Fenris, and appoints the Asgardian Skurge as her executioner. Hela plans to use the Bifröst to expand Asgard's empire, but Heimdall sneaks in, takes the sword that controls the Bridge and begins hiding other Asgardians.

Thor crash-lands on Sakaar, a garbage planet surrounded by wormholes. A slave trader designated Scrapper 142 subdues him with an obedience disk and sells him as a gladiator to Sakaar's ruler, the Grandmaster, with whom Loki has already ingratiated himself. Thor recognizes 142 as one of the Valkyrior, a legendary force of female warriors who were killed fighting Hela long ago. Thor is forced to compete in the Grandmaster's Contest of Champions, facing his old friend Hulk. Summoning lightning, Thor gets the upper hand, but the Grandmaster sabotages the fight to ensure Hulk's victory. Still enslaved after the fight, Thor attempts to convince Hulk and 142 to help him save Asgard, but neither is willing. He soon manages to escape the palace and finds the Quinjet that brought Hulk to Sakaar. Hulk follows Thor to the Quinjet, where a recording of Natasha Romanoff makes him transform back into Bruce Banner for the first time since Sokovia.

The Grandmaster orders 142 and Loki to find Thor and Hulk, but the pair come to blows and Loki forces her to relive the deaths of her fellow Valkyrior at the hands of Hela. Deciding to help Thor, she takes Loki captive. Unwilling to be left behind, Loki provides the group with the means to steal one of the Grandmaster's ships. They then liberate the other gladiators who, led by Korg and Miek, stage a revolution. Loki again attempts to betray his brother, but Thor anticipates this and leaves him behind, where Korg, Miek, and the gladiators soon find him. Thor, Banner, and 142 escape through a wormhole to Asgard, where Hela's forces are attacking Heimdall and the remaining Asgardians in pursuit of the sword that controls the Bifröst. Banner chooses to become Hulk again, defeating Fenris, while Thor and 142 battle Hela and her warriors. Loki and the gladiators arrive to rescue the citizens, and a repentant Skurge sacrifices himself to enable their escape. Thor, facing Hela, loses his right eye and then has a vision of Odin that helps him realize only Ragnarök can stop her. He sends Loki to retrieve Surtur's crown and place it in the Eternal Flame. Surtur is reborn and destroys Asgard, seemingly killing Hela.

Aboard the Grandmaster's spaceship, Thor, now king, decides to take his people to Earth. In a mid-credits scene, they are intercepted by a large spacecraft.^{[N 2]} In a post-credits scene, the Grandmaster is confronted by his former subjects.

Cast[]

Chris Hemsworth as Thor / Hajo
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk
Cate Blanchett as Hela
Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie
Idris Elba as Heimdall
Anthony Hopkins as Odin / Loki (disguise)
Karl Urban as Skurge/Executioner
Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster
Ray Stevenson as Volstagg
Zachary Levi as Fandral
Tadanobu Asano as Hogun
Rachel House as Topaz
Cohen Holloway as Lead Scrapper
Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange
Taika Waititi as Korg / Ejashi / Hajo / Surtur (motion capture)
Clancy Brown as Surtur (voice)
Steven Oliver as Cousin Carlo
Luke Hemsworth as Thor (Fiction)
Sam Neill as Odin (Fiction)
Matt Damon as Loki (Fiction)
Charlotte Nicdao as Sif (Fiction)
Gabby Carbon as Jane Foster (Fiction)
Stan Lee as Sakaaran Barber
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (stock footage)
Shane Rangi as Hajo
Unknown Actor as Miek
Unknown Actor as Biff
Unknown Actor as Doug
Unknown Actor as Tasba
Unknown Actor as Fandral (Fiction)
Unknown Actor as Hogun (Fiction)
Unknown Actor as Volstagg (Fiction)

Sequel[]

Thor: Ragnarok will be followed by a sequel: Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

This is the seventeenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This is the highest grossing Thor film.
This is the ninth highest grossing film of 2017.
This is the third film in the Thor series.
Sir Anthony Hopkins had decided against returning as Odin, but upon reading the story, he changed his mind.
This marks the first time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that The Incredible Hulk was not voiced by Lou Ferrigno, but by Mark Ruffalo. Ferrigno voiced Hulk in The Incredible Hulk (2008), Avengers Assemble (2012), and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).
Cate Blanchett accepted a role in this movie to please her children, who are Marvel comics fans. Blanchett's eldest son Dashiell John Upton suggested she take the role of Hela, saying it'd be a career boost.
The trailer for Thor: Ragnarok generated more than one hundred thirty-six million views in its first twenty-four hours after being released.
Thor's "friend from work" line about Hulk was suggested to Chris Hemsworth by a Make-A-Wish child who paid a visit to the set on the day the scene was filmed.
The inclusion of the song Immigrant Song was actually originally scripted to happen in the first Thor film, according to that film's co-writer Zack Stentz. It was scripted to appear in scenes whenever Thor rode into battle, but ultimately it was cut from the final cut of that film.^[3]
With the film's release in 2017, it is the 55th anniversary of the debut of Thor (August 1962) and The Incredible Hulk (May 1962), as well as the centennial of their co-creator Jack Kirby.
This is the second film in which the Marvel Studios logo includes a special transition effect rather than a basic cut, after The Avengers.
Director Taika Waititi appeared in this movie as Korg. He is the second Marvel movie director to have a major role in his own movie, after Jon Favreau (who directed the first two Iron Man movies, and appeared as "Happy" Hogan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe).
The song heard in the trailer and Thor's first and last battles is Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song". It was specifically chosen because its lyrics make mention of Norse mythology.
According to producer Kevin Feige, this movie plays a significant role in setting up Avengers: Infinity War (2018).
Sif was originally supposed to appear in this movie, but Jaimie Alexander's shooting schedule for the third season of Blindspot (2015) clashed with this movie's schedule. It was decided to have the character written out, with producer Kevin Feige saying that Sif was off on a mission during Ragnarök.
This movie contains three members of the comic book incarnation of The Defenders superhero group: Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Dr. Strange is a founding member of The Defenders.
According to director Taika Waititi, while this movie adapts the "Planet Hulk" storyline, The Incredible Hulk wasn't going to be in this movie at all. It was only supposed to be Thor stranded on an alien battlefield-world.
Tessa Thompson based her performance as Valkyrie on Sarah Connor from Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
Hela (Cate Blanchett) was the first female main villain in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
First movie from director Taika Waititi that was not also written by him.
This movie was released in 2017, along with Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (2017) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). This marked the first time the Marvel Cinematic Universe has released three movies in the same year.
Having directed Thor (2011), Sir Kenneth Branagh turned down the chance to return as this movie's director in order to work on Murder on the Orient Express (2017) instead.
Grossed over $650 million worldwide in ten days.
Charlize Theron was considered for the role of Hela.
Taika Waititi cited the heroic team-ups in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), 48 Hrs. (1982), Withnail & I (1987), Midnight Run (1988), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), and Big Trouble in Little China (1986) as influences on the heroes' dynamic in this movie.
Although this movie is technically Thor's third solo outing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he appeared in both Avengers movies and Doctor Strange (2016), making this his sixth appearance in the franchise, not including the Team Thor promo videos for this movie. (As of this movie's release.)
Although Natalie Portman declined to reprise her role as Dr. Jane Foster for this movie, she will now be reprising the role, and apparently taking up the mantle of Thor in the upcoming Phase 4 Marvel movie, Thor: Love and Thunder.
First "Thor" movie to not feature Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, or Stellan Skarsgård.
This movie marks the third time that a Kronan has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first was in the opening battle of Thor: The Dark World (2013), then in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) as Rocket and Yondu venture to Ego's planet.
The four years that elapsed between the release of Thor: The Dark World (2013) and this movie mark the longest gap between installments of a franchise within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The fact that Hela (Cate Blanchett) is the daughter of Odin (Sir Anthony Hopkins), combined with the fact that this movie is produced by Walt Disney Pictures, by default makes her a Disney Princess. In this case, she is Disney's first Princess featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as their first Princess to take on the role of the villain.
Tessa Thompson appeared with Sir Anthony Hopkins on Westworld (2016) alongside Chris Hemsworth's brother Luke, who had a cameo in this movie as an Asgardian actor playing Thor in a play.
Thor's first appearance on-screen was as second lead in a Hulk-centered television movie: The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988).
Along with Iron Man, Thor is the only other Marvel Studios franchise to have three different composers for each movie: Patrick Doyle scored Thor (2011), Brian Tyler scored Thor: The Dark World (2013), and Mark Mothersbaugh scored this movie.
The cast includes four Oscar winners: Cate Blanchett, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Matt Damon, and Taika Waititi; and three Oscar nominees: Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo. In addition, with four winners, this movie breaks the record from Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) in having the most Oscar winners featured in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
Tessa Thompson revealed that Valkyrie is bisexual.
Both Chris Hemsworth and Karl Urban appeared in Star Trek (2009).
Thor is the only Marvel Studios franchise to have a different director for each entry: Sir Kenneth Branagh directed Thor (2011), Alan Taylor directed Thor: The Dark World (2013), and Taika Waititi directed this movie.
Karl Urban (Skurge) is the only main character that's not featured on the main poster.
This marks the third time that Sam Neill and Samuel L. Jackson appeared in the same cinematic universe without having a scene together. Neill appeared in The Hunt for Red October (1990), while Jackson appeared in Patriot Games (1992). The two also appeared in Jurassic Park (1993), along with Jeff Goldblum.
Thor and Jane's break up was hinted in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) because Jane didn't attend Tony Stark's party.
Cate Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum appeared in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004). Both movies also featured a score by Mark Mothersbaugh.
Jeff Goldblum appeared with Chris Hemsworth's brother, Liam, in Independence Day: Resurgence (2016).
Karl Urban and Matt Damon appeared in The Bourne Supremacy (2004).
Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch appeared in War Horse (2011).
Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum appeared in Jurassic Park (1993).
This is Taika Waititi's first film to be shot in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, unlike his previous films which were shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. However, the film was specially formatted in a 1.90:1 aspect ratio when played in IMAX, which closely matches the 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
Anthony Hopkins's first film was The Lion in Winter (1968), in which he played the son of Katharine Hepburn's character. Cate Blanchett played Hepburn in The Aviator (2004).

Thor
Thor (2011), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Phase Three
Captain America: Civil War (2016), Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)