Superhero films can sometimes be hard to score, especially if you're going for a specific tone like that of Thor: Ragnarok. With Taika Waititi's comedic sensibilities being mixed in with that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's sense of scope and grandeur, a certain type of music is required to make those two halves mesh perfectly. And in Waititi's fantasy version of the threequel, the classic line-up of Queen would be providing the musical score, as he explains below:
I've often said if Freddie Mercury were alive, I would have asked Queen to do the soundtrack. It just has that feel: it's a cool bold, colorful cosmic adventure. And it just needed to be fun.
If that doesn't put a pretty picture of what to expect out of Thor: Ragnarok in your head, then you probably didn't grow up in the 80's and 90's wave of sci-fi filmmaking. In particular, you're probably not a fan of the camp classic adaptation of Flash Gordon that actually did feature Queen and Freddie Mercury as the musical accompaniment back in 1980. At any rate, it's as awesome as you'd think it is, with the title tune "Flash!" serving as a fantastic example of just what sort of tone Taika Waititi wishes the music to his Marvel Studios picture could take on.
Though hearing that sort of intent being used to make the third Thor movie is pretty refreshing, and has us hopeful that Thor: Ragnarok will be every bit as epic as the trailers have let on. While the series has been pretty dry, and deadly serious, in its previous films, it feels like Marvel Studios decided to bank on the cosmic success of Guardians of the Galaxy in order to make the world of the Nine Realms all the more entertaining.
Still, even though Queen with Freddie Mercury at the helm isn't available for Thor: Ragnarok's scoring needs, the film does have a pretty qualified composer who's used to generating experimental, 80's themed fun. Mark Mothersbaugh, who has been a pretty accomplished composer for quite a few years, was also the front man of legendary 80's alternative act Devo. And while they weren't the exact same flavor of "out there" that Queen was, they were certainly in the same neighborhood. So take Devo's experimental attitude, and mix in a heavy dose of synthesizers, and you've got a rough idea of what to expect.
All things considered, it's hard to shake the image of what the alternate universe that Taika Waititi described to EW would look like. It's all too easy to picture an older, but still feisty Freddie Mercury strutting into a recording studio, with a replica of Thor's helmet on his head, ready to record something extremely similar to that Flash Gordon cue we mentioned, which can also be seen / heard below:
Thor: Ragnarok rocks into theaters on November 3rd, though it doesn't sound like it's too late to call the surviving members of Queen and Adam Lambert to whip up a quick single before showtime. Just an idea.
