Home Entertainment Director Taika Waititi discusses some of the THOR: RAGNAROK rumours

Director Taika Waititi discusses some of the THOR: RAGNAROK rumours

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We’ve been inundated with a lot of news about the next Thor installment, Thor: Ragnarok, which you can read, herehere and here. Although it is not the next movie in the MCU to be gracing our story (or even close), as Captain America: Civil War will be gracing the big screens this year, it is certainly the one getting the most media attention and hype from Marvel studios. And with all the stories that are coming out, it sounds like it is going to be an important movie in the MCU as a lot of what comes after it is going to center around the plots for this movie. This is definitely going to be a big one to keep an eye on.

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Well the film’s director, Taika Waititi took time out with Wired to respond to some of the rumours that we have been hearing about the movie. When asked about the role that Loki will play as a villan in the movie, he had the following to say:

At the moment, everyone’s trying to figure it out, like ‘What’s he going to do?’ Everyone loves that character.

Loki is certainly a favourite villain from the movies, not only because the role is brilliantly played by Tom Hiddleston, but also because you never know what to expect from the character and you never know when to love him or hate him. However the director would not confirm the rumours about Cate Blanchett being cast in the role of Hela, it definitely appears she is in the movie.

Look, it’s so early I’m not sure exactly what the extent of it is, but it’s looking good, which would make me very happy. Yeah, the rumor … Here’s the thing. I can’t say anything. I’ve probably said way too much.

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All this is to be expected, with the director doing his best to not reveal too much and leave all the surprises for the movie (yet we will try and push for news anyway). One thing which will be interesting in the movie is the directors take on the subject matter. Ragnarok is “the end of all things” in the comic story line and so one could expect a dark story, except that Waititi is more of a comedic director who has already spoken about the movie having strong comedic elements.

Nobody knows what Ragnarok is. I started reading about the actual Norse Ragnarok and that’s even more insane than the comics. Crazy! But that’s what I’m going to really concentrate on, really make an effort to change the entire thing. For me, I want to treat this as if it was the first Thor film, so we’re going to redo it. You just have to flip it and freshen it up, like anything. It’s also part of a very well-established universe right now, but that’s why they got me.

Not sure I like his idea of freshening thing up, though hopefully his changes are not as dramatic as they sound. I definitely think adding a humour approach to the dark subject matter makes a lot of sense and will certainly make the film more appealing to the average cinema goer. One angle I do like is what he is how he intends on building on the Hulk persona and exploring a more emotional and smarter Hulk than we have come to know so far from the movies. In responding to some rumours on changes to the Hulk that Mark Ruffalo would like to see, he added:

It’s interesting, because at the moment, there’s a big conversation that’s happening about how far to push that. Whether or not The Hulk should be [verbal/conscious].

So I think a lot of those decisions are larger group decisions, rather than anything to do with just me or the writer. They have a lot of stuff that they have to consider. But I do think that’s the best way to track it. I think we all want that. I think we all want to see that development and the evolution of that character. I also think you can do it in a fun way

So, the jury is still out on what that all means, but it does seem the likelihood of seeing a merged Hulk with Bruce banner retaining full control is a strong possibility. We probably won’t see it in Thor: Ragnarok, but this film will probably give us a strong indication of what type of Hulk we may see in the future.

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One person who is a fan of the work Waititi is doing in the film is Mark Ruffalo, who also had an opportunity to discuss the upcoming film with Yahoo!

Taika Waititi’s coming in and I love him. That’s a surprise and it fits part of this Marvel doing the unexpected, casting the unexpected, and now bringing in the unexpected for writer and director. I’m really interested in where that’s going…

I think the Russo brothers are great and I think they’re well positioned to take it on, and I’m happy to be doing it with them, but I’m friends with Joss. He had a hard time making the first one and he had a hard time making this one. I think it’s partially the nature of that beast.

Marvel certainly knows how to make inspired director decisions and its good that Ruffalo is enjoying the different angels each director takes. It certainly keeps things fresh and interesting in the movies, even if the tomes of the movies get a little disjointed along the way. A lot of fans are longing for a new standalone Hulk movie, but it seems that Marvel is content with telling his story as part of the other movies, with Ruffalo himself saying:

we’ve worked a really interesting arc into Thor 3Avengers 3 and 4 for Banner that I think will – when it’s all added up – will feel like a Hulk movie, a standalone movie

So, expect a lot of Hulk content to coming into the next movies. He may not be getting his own film, but it certainly sounds like he will be getting a central role and not just being a sidelined act. And to be fair, Marvel have done a much better job with the Hulk character as part of an ensemble than on his own, so I guess they’re on to something there.

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There are many different takes on the Hulk character that could be explored, but one interesting one I like is the idea of an evil Hulk from 2008’s World War Hulk comics. In this plotline Hulk powers up to a fierce new form called WorldBreaker and returns to earth leading a massive new alien army. With the Avengers set to be reduced in Captain America: Civil War and Thanos needing to be introduced as a villian, Hulk could do as a makeshift villain in bring the Avengers back together. Not sure, it’s an angle Marvel will take with the character, as it may polarize audiences, but it certainly would be a different side of the story to tell. Yes, I’ve just thrown another rumour into the mix – what do you want to see happen with the Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Thor: Ragnarok opens November 3, 2017 and it is just way too far away, with 4 more Marvel movies planned before this time… Time for a Hulk smash – but I first need to find someone else’s computer to do it with, I can’t afford to buy another one.

Last Updated: February 2, 2016

2 Comments

  1. The Sten

    February 2, 2016 at 11:46

    I always thought the problem with Hulk was that Banner is always trying his best to NOT be the Hulk. Whereas the audience is always wanting and rooting for him to transform and SMASH EVERYTHING.

    This is probably why he is working best as a support character.

    Here’s hoping for Planet Hulk in the future or something like it.

    Reply

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