Part of what makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe work so well is that every film, no matter how different, feels like it’s part of the same world. More than simply including character crossovers, there‘s an intangible aspect that made Guardians of the Galaxy feel like it had something in common with Ant-Man even though the two had nothing else to do with each other. There are other aspects of the MCU’s sameness that are less complimentary, however. Primarily the fact that the movies have been one big sausage fest. There’s a whole lotta dudes in those movies is what I’m saying. It’s looking like the third next Thor movie may be looking to change that up, as they’ll reportedly be putting a woman in a key role where she’s never been before. The primary villain.
The word on the street is that Thor’s antagonist in Thor: Ragnarok, which will be going into production next year, will be female. While it doesn’t sound like anybody has been cast, the word is they're looking for a big name. The Lainey Gossip blog names Cate Blanchett as a possibility but that appears to be more dream casting than actual news. We’ve heard rumors that Alice Eve could be up for the role, but thus far they’re still only rumors. It’s also not clear which big villain they could be playing. This is great news, though, as it freshens things up on multiple levels. The only female villain that we’ve seen thus far is Karen Gillan’s Nebula from Guardians, and while she was totally awesome in that role, and will be again, she’s in a party of one. Two, if you count Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch, but she’s only about a half villain, for half a movie, to begin with.
All of the MCU’s women -- heroes and villains -- have played supporting roles up until now, so this possible villain will really be the first woman in charge of bringing the pain. Hopefully her uniqueness will also help to make her a more memorable villain. Everybody loves Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, but the race for "second favorite Marvel villain" is a jumbled mess of mostly replaceable foes whose names you likely can’t quite remember. Nobody has done a bad job (well Mickey Rourke maybe), but nobody else has really stood out. A female villain will be memorable simply for existing. This fact is a little sad, but there you are.
Great villains have been a place where DC seems to have an edge on Marvel. They have so many, they get their own movie. So which great female Thor villain would you like to see in Thor: Ragnarok? And who would you like to see playing her?
