Thor: What Is Ragnarok? Video
A new video posted by the Marvel Studios Twitter account sees Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo [...]
A new video posted by the Marvel Studios Twitter account sees Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner / the Hulk) and Cate Blanchett (Hela, the Asgardian Goddess of Death) succinctly explaining the apocalyptic Norse mythology event from which Thor: Ragnarok gets its name.
"Ragnarok is beauty, it's hope, justice," Blanchett says, before things turn sinister. "Ragnarok is redemption, chaos, fire, it's the end of all things. The demise of the gods. And the ascension of Death."
"I thought it was a comedy," Ruffalo quips.
In Norse mythology, Ragnarok was a series of devastating events — a massive battle, natural disasters, the flooding of the entire world — that killed off the gods, including Thor, Loki and Odin. In the Marvel comics that loosely inspired Thor: Ragnarok, the event was an Asgardian apocalypse and the eternal cycle of death and rebirth for the Asgardians.
While it remains to be seen if Marvel Studios' latest blockbuster will see the complete and utter destruction of Asgard as promised by the movie's title, Ragnarok already serves as a deconstruction of the Thor franchise: the threequel gives the Asgardian God of Thunder a new look, a new attitude and an exciting new weapon, and will complete Thor's journey.
As told by director Taika Waititi, despite its lighter tone, Ragnarok will put Thor through the ringer:
"We do a lot to this character in this film," Waititi said on the Australian set. "You know, a lot of people have been wanting to see this idea of Ragnarok. A lot of people are excited by the idea of what Ragnarok means. To me, it means stripping down the establishment of what's already there and then building it up in a new way. [It] is almost like this cyclic idea of Ragnarok."
As grim as it all sounds, worry not — the golden haired god and the not-so-jolly green giant will still be around to join the fight against Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War, out May 2018, a superhero epic that will have direct ties to Thor: Ragnarok.
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Anthony Hopkins and Cate Blanchett, Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters November 3.
Imprisoned on the other side of the universe, the mighty Thor finds himself in a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against the Hulk, his former ally and fellow Avenger. Thor's quest for survival leads him in a race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home world and the Asgardian civilization.
