Even though Marvel’s only five days into shooting Thor: Ragnarok, that wasn’t going to stop Kevin Feige from previewing some exclusive footage from the third installment. Feige opened the panel by asking the audience if anyone ever wondered what Thor was up to during the events of Civil War? Why didn’t the Norse God help out his friends and/or choose a side?

And with that – Feige introduced some exclusive footage from director Taika Waititi, finally putting the question to rest. The footage (a mock documentary produced by the ‘New Zealand Film Board’) perfectly captured Waititi’s irreverent sense of humor and made me wish Thor: Ragnarok were just a straight comedy. In the mock-doc, Thor’s revealed to be living in Australia with his human roommate Daryl. The jokes come flying rapid fire – a favorite: poor Daryl constantly has to clean up after his messy roommate, but can’t vacuum the floor because Thor’s hammer is in the middle of the room, blocking his path. Meanwhile Thor attempts to compose the perfect email to Tony and Steve that will help solve their “little strife.” We also see that Thor’s constructed an elaborate board with various interlocking strings, attempting to get to the truth behind the ‘infinity stones’. There’s a ton more jokes – too many to list (Thor keeps a baby hammer in a crib; Thor only communicates via raven); but suffice to say Chris Hemsworth may easily be one of the most underrated comedic talents today. Between Ghostbusters and this mock documentary, he’s one of the few actors not afraid to be the punchline of a joke.


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Image via Marvel Studios

After the mock-doc ended, the footage transitioned into actual shots from Thor: Ragnarok. The images passed by pretty quickly and most of it was pre-viz or storyboards; but certain images stood out like Thor with short, cut-off hair and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) fighting in an arena a la Planet Hulk. The big money shot of the footage though featured Hulk jumping at the gigantic fiery face of Hela, the green hero a mere speck in relation to his enemy.

It’s impossible to say how Thor: Ragnarok will turn out; but if Waititi could make an extended mock-doc the funniest thing I’ve seen all week, than I have the utmost confidence that the third Thor film will be the best of the series.

Thor: Ragnarok opens November 3, 2017.  For more on the film, click on the links below:

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Image via Marvel
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Image via Marvel
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Image via Marvel