The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been host to many bad guys, but when Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters in November, Marvel Studios will introduce its first major big screen female villain: Hela, the Asgardian Goddess of Death, portrayed by two-time Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett.
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“I only realized that really when I got on set and you think, ‘Wow! It’s taken this long to catch up!’” Blanchett told ET of her status as the first major Marvel Cinematic Universe villainess to reach the big screen.
“But you know, Marvel is catching up at a rapid, rapid rate,” Blanchett added, singling out Marvel’s marvelous women: “You’ve got Captain Marvel coming out with Brie [Larson] and I mean, all these incredible women who are in Black Panther… and Scarlett [Johansson], of course.”
“It’s really exciting for kids to be on the set and also it’s such a family, the Marvel Universe,” said the mother of four, who brought her children to visit the set of the Thor threequel. Though Blanchett portrays arguably Thor’s worst enemy yet — the trailer sees Hela destroy Thor’s beloved hammer, Mjolnir, as well as invading and toppling Asgard and its army — the actress says her daughter, Edith, was quite taken with her mother’s superhuman abilities.
“It was her first experience of being on set with me, so she thinks that’s what I do all the time,” Blanchett shared. “She thinks acting is manifesting weapons out of your hands and killing people.”
In Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok, Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok – the destruction of his homeworld and the end ofAsgardian civilization – at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthlessHela. But first, he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger – the Incredible Hulk!
Thor: Ragnarok is directed by Taika Waititi with a screenplay by Eric Pearson. The film stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston reprising his role as Loki. They are joined by Cate Blanchett (Hela), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Jeff Goldblum(Grandmaster), Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Karl Urban (Skurge), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Sam Neill, Ray Stevenson (Volstagg), Tadanobu Asano (Hogun), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk), and Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Stephen Strange). Thor: Ragnarok opens November 3rd.
