Marvel Studios made some very exciting casting news on next year’s Thor: Ragnarok. They have added two-time Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett and the smartest guy of mid ’90s summer Blockbusters, Jeff Goldblum, among others.
Blanchett will play villainess Hela, Loki’s daughter and ruler of the realms of the dead. Goldblum will star as Grandmaster, the game playing elder, who has spent his immortality learning all the games and contests of the universe, often gambling for life and death.
Marvel has shared some concept art images and it looks like Hela will wear – at least for a short time – the dramatic, antler headdress from the comics.
Other additions include Tessa Thompson (Creed, Selma) who will star as Valkyrie, the Asgardian warrior-goddess, and Karl Urban as Skurge, a double-bladed axe carrying executioner and Hela’s servant.
“The sheer, raw talent each of these actors brings to the screen can’t be quantified,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said. “Having any one of them join the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be an honor, and having all of them is incredible.”
Mark Ruffalo also joins the film in his third Marvel outing as Bruce Banner and the Hulk. This marks his first full appearance, he was in an Iron Man 3 stinger, in one of the solo films.
After months of fans questioning whether or not Natalie Portman will return as scientist Jane Foster, Marvel announced that she won’t be in Ragnarok. This is due in part to the fact that the movie will take place in the celestial regions of the MCU.
Jaimie Alexander, who plays Lady Sif in the series, is not currently on the cast list either. But after a fan voiced concern over not having Lady Sif in the movie, Alexander tweeted “Don’t worry” accompanied by a winking emoji in response.
Thor: Ragnarok will be out on November 3, 2017. Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, and Idris Elba are all returning as Thor, Loki, and Heimdall, respectively. It is directed by Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows) and written by Stephany Folsom (Ds2dio 360), Craig Kyle (Iron Man: Armored Adventures), and Christopher Yost (The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes).