There are several spoiler warnings of increasing spoilerage regarding Blanchett's possible role, and how it plays out in the comics. Proceed with caution!
The road to production for Thor: Ragnarok has been an interesting one, including the addition of a new writer, the plan to tell the story as a road movie between Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, and, perhaps the biggest development of all, the pleasantly surprising casting of Cate Blanchett in an unspecified role. Now, we may have our answer as to what Blanchett’s role will be.
For context: the plot of the film will seemingly involve the Norse apocalypse (as the title suggests), including the rising of dead spirits, an event which took place in the comics. Such a scenario would fall in line with a scene that took place in Avengers: Age of Ultron, in which Thor envisions Hel, a realm reserved for the dead. Not mentioned during that scene is the ruler of Hel, which is Hela. A recent report now suggests that she will be the main villain of Thor: Ragnarok.
According to Geek.com, Blanchett will play the villain Hela. As the site states, Blanchett’s version of Hela will be as she appears in the comics, “complete with her cloak and power over the dead souls of the Nine Realms.”
Spoiler warning 1: If you don’t want to know more than that, feel free to stop reading now. If you want to know some more plot points, read on.
Also mentioned is the role Tom Hiddleston’s Loki will play. Again per the report, “Hela will make it to Asgard, where she’ll be in cahoots with Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, current motives unknown.”
Lots of information to process. Of course, the addition of Blanchett was always exciting. Fresh off of her Oscar-nominated turn in Carol, she had already raised the prospects of this film. But now that we know she will be the main villain, that certainly makes it interesting. And not just any villain, but the goddess of death! Also, seeing her alongside Hiddleston should prove to be a lot of fun.
Spoiler warning 2: The report goes on to color in some of the details very specifically, so if you only want to know the villain but not what she does, you can stop reading now. If not, read on to see how Hela and Loki’s union ends:
“Hela and Loki will have set their plan well in motion by the time Thor gets wise to what’s going on. Hela ends up creating the incident to Thor’s journey in the film. According to our sources, when Thor confronts Hela, things do not go well.”
Spoiler warning 3: How things “do not go well” is quite a kicker, so quit while you’re ahead if you only want to know those dynamics. But if you choose to be fully informed: “Not only does (Hela) banish Thor from Asgard, but she destroys Mjolnir.”
That’s quite a punch. Thor banished from Asgard and the hammer destroyed? Hela has no mercy. Now it makes sense why they brought in another writer to lighten the mood.
Of course, how we arrive at that point will be interesting to see, especially the role Hulk will play in all of this. But it sounds like we’re in for plenty of action (and laughs!)
Thor: Ragnarok is directed by Taika Waititi (What We Do In The Shadows) and arrives in theaters November 3, 2017.