With DC gaining laurels for its Justice League trailer, Marvel Studios has stepped up and released Thor: Ragnarok’s trailer to much acclaim. The third Thor film being directed by Academy award-nominee Taika Waititi, will also be the third Marvel release this year, after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming. The trailer that has gone viral, has raked in close to 12 million views already. The film is reportedly set after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, when Thor leaves earth. In Thor: Ragnarok, he is forced to duel his friend, the Hulk, in order to get free, and rescue his home planet Asgard from Hela, who is very close to annihilating all of its civilisation. Unlike in other Marvel films, the trailer shows the introduction of many a new character in this film. Here’s breaking down who they are:
Hela: This super-villainess is the Asgardian goddess of death. While according to the comics, she’s the daughter of Loki, the film will likely not portray her relationship with the Asgardian bigwigs. Cate Blanchett, who plays Hela, makes her introduction in the Marvel universe through this film. The trailer shows her stopping the almighty Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer, and as if that weren’t enough, she crushes it without breaking a sweat. Will we see another infinity stone inside the broken Mjolnir?
Skurge — The Executioner: Karl Urban of the Star Trek franchise fame is seen in a brief appearance in the trailer. He’s playing the role of the Asgardian supervillain, Skurge, for which he has shaved his head and beefed up his body too. Skurge is the son of a frost giant, and an Asgardian. He has a soft corner for Enchantress (not to be confused with DC’s Enchantress who appeared in Suicide Squad) who uses him as a pawn to carry out Loki’s plans. He wields a magic double-bladed battle axe and has much hatred for Thor.
Valkyrie: Chosen by Odin to lead the Valkyrior originally, Valkyrie seems to have gone rogue, and now likely works as a bounty hunter for the Grandmaster. Creed fame Tessa Thompson plays this character. The trailer shows her to be the one who captures Thor and other combatants. It also shows her in a fight against Hela on her flying horse Aragorn and it’s highly plausible that she collaborates with Thor to avenge Hela for destroying her clan.
The Grandmaster: Probably the most surprising newcomer to the universe is The Grandmaster that’s played by veteran and Jurassic Park fame, Jeff Goldblum. The Grandmaster is one of the ageless Elders of the Universe similar to the Collector (seen in Guardians of the Galaxy). He rules the planet Sakaar where he hosts gladiator-style games. In the trailer, he is seen to introduce Thor as one such warrior. We don’t know too much about how much time The Grandmaster will likely get in this film.
The film also brings us the fan-favourite, Tom Hiddleston, playing Loki, who, in this film, joins hands with The Grandmaster to get one back at his brother, Thor. Idris Elba is also back as Heimdall and we hope he gets the screen time he deserves. The truly exciting moment in the trailer is when Hulk enters the arena as Thor’s opponent. It appears that Hulk has somehow, after the Age of Ultron, landed in Sakaar.
Thor: Ragnarok is scheduled for release, later this year.