Cate Blanchett Took ‘Thor’ Role Because “There’s Never Been A Female Marvel Villain”

Marvel has a decent track record when it comes to casting talented, award-winning actors to play prominent roles in their iconic pantheon. The next film on their release calendar will continue that trend.

As the build up to the Infinity War continues, Thor: Ragnarok will bring a number of changes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but one of the most notable is the addition of Cate Blanchett as Hela, the first main antagonist in one of the popular superhero movies to be a woman.

Blanchett spoke to the Los Angeles Times when she revealed her reasonings for taking on the film, stating they were threefold.

“A) It was Taika [Waititi, director of Thor: Ragnarok]. B) It was the Goddess of Death. And C) There’s never been a female Marvel villain.”

Previous Marvel Studios movies have featured women as baddies, such as Nebula and Scarlet Witch, but they were not the main threats in their respective films and have since gone on to become allies to the heroes.

Hela represents a cosmic, incarnate threat for Thor and the other Asgardians, representing death itself in her quest to destroy the land of the gods.

Blanchett said the most difficult part of her role wasn’t playing the avatar of death, but maintaining her character traits while wearing a motion capture suit and pretending Hela’s iconic headpiece was there.

“The headdress is such a huge part of when she comes into the height of her powers in the film,” said Blanchett. “I only wore that really in the photo shoots. I had to sort of imagine what it was like being a reindeer.”

We’ve seen clips of Hela both with and without the comic-accurate headpiece. Based on Blanchett’s comments, it sounds like it could have a significant role that extends beyond cosmetics, especially considering those scenes of her without it seem to take place earlier in the film.

We’ll find out more about Hela and her vendetta against Asgard when Thor: Ragnarok premieres in theaters on November 3.