After months of rumors and reports about Cate Blanchett’s supposed involvement in Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel confirmed last week that she will indeed play the movie’s main antagonist, Hela, the Asgardian goddess of death. Because the third Thor installment is about a year and a half away, it will be a while until we learn concrete details about this iteration of the character, but according to Mark Ruffalo, she may be one of the best villains in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Ruffalo, who will reprise Bruce Banner/The Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok, told ET Online that Blanchett’s Hela will be the baddest of the bad next year, giving the God of Thunder and the Green Goliath arguably their greatest challenge yet. He said:
She plays the worst of the worst. So evil. She is going to kill us. It’s such a great part she gets to play.
With this quote alone, it’s hard to tell what Hela will be up to in Thor: Ragnarok, but if you’re familiar with her in the comics, you know she wields enormous power. In addition to natural Asgardian might, Hela is gifted with incredible mystic abilities, like killing someone with a single touch or resurrecting the souls of the dead resting in the afterlife she rules over, Hel. So yeah, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Thor and Hulk could actually be killed in the movie, though resurrection would come soon after from another source.
There isn’t an official image available of Cate Blanchett’s Hela yet (the movie doesn’t start filming until next month) but the concept art below gives us a look at her from behind as she faces off against an army of Asgardian warriors. We’re guessing that army is done for.
An official plot for Thor: Ragnarok hasn’t been released, but if this movie is indeed featuring the apocalyptic event from the Marvel comics and original Norse mythology, then Thor, Hulk and their allies will have their hands full trying to prevent Asgard and the other Nine Realms from being annihilated. An earlier, unconfirmed report stated that Hela will be working with Loki on an unknown scheme, and whether Thor learns about what they’re up to, she’ll banish him from Asgard and destroy his hammer, Mjolnir. While it remains to be seen whether that actually happens, Tom Hiddleston is reprising Loki, so we could indeed see the God of Mischief combing his own powers and intellect with Hela’s. The movie’s other sinister figures include Karl Urban as Skurge, a.k.a. The Executioner, and Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster.
Directed by Taika Waititi, Thor: Ragnarok storms into theaters on November 3, 2017.
