The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become prone to flash point events (no, not the DC kind) over the course of the last decade, as each Phase continuously offers at least one status quo shift to audiences. Even after the game-changing events of Captain America: Civil War, it looks like Phase 3 will offer up yet another shift with Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok. In fact, during a visit to the film's set, Ragnarok executive producer Brad Winderbaum told CinemaBlend that this story would have a Captain America: The Winter Soldier-level impact on the Asgardian side of the MCU, explaining:
Well just as in Winter Soldier, we kind of broke down some of the real fundamental ideas about the MCU that you took for granted, specifically S.H.I.E.L.D. I think that also in Phase One, we established this cosmology that involved Asgard and Odin and certain ideas of things that you just thought were eternal and could never change. And what this film does is it breaks them down in a very similar way that Winter Soldier broke down S.H.I.E.L.D.
Uttering the title of Captain America: The Winter Soldier means some pretty big things are on the horizon in Thor: Ragnarok. The second Captain America film marked a significant turning point for the Marvel Cinematic Universe by dismantling an established organization that the characters and audiences had taken for granted (the true meaning of S.H.I.E.L.D., in that case), thus leaving our heroes without a major lifeline that had proven invaluable. Now, with Thor: Ragnarok, it looks like we may see some irreversible changes made to Asgard and the powerful beings who live there.
Intriguing, right? While it's hard to precisely glean what is meant with these remarks, we can start to venture some guesses. One distinct possibility is the complete destruction of Asgard (which, after all, is the meaning of the film's title). Then there's also the possibility that Thor could suffer a Hydra-esque betrayal at the hands of someone close to him -- which subsequently could cause him to lose faith in the nobility of his people. Finally (and perhaps less severely), something could happen that simply takes Asgard off of the table and unable to help Earth when Thanos shows up with the Infinity Gauntlet. At this point, all we know for certain is the fact that something big is coming in Thor: Ragnarok.
Check out the San Diego Comic-Con trailer for Thor: Ragnarok below to get a better look at the God of Thunder's upcoming adventure through space!
Thor: Ragnarok will debut in theaters later this year on November 3. Thor Odinson will rejoin his long-lost teammates in the battle against Thanos next summer when The Avengers: Infinity War premieres on May 4, 2018. Here's everything that we know about Ragnarok, and here's everything that we currently know regarding the next Avengers adventure!
With anticipation for Thor: Ragnarok officially ramping up, Marvel Studios has released some fantastic new character posters the accompany the film. Check them out below and let us know what you think of them in the comments!
