With the Thor: Ragnarok TV spots running at full steam on the final lap to the November 3rd release date, plenty of people have taken notice of a location change for one of the biggest shots of the marketing campaign. Originally, Hela destroyed Thor's hammer in an alley, but new commercials and clips have this scene taking place in a field. We here at CinemaBlend questioned the setting change, but now we have an answer! Director Taika Waititi recently conducted an interview wherein he reveals they changed the scene for the following reason:
Well, here's the thing. Alleyways aren't cool. Fields are cool. Alright? Ask anyone. We originally shot some of that stuff [sic] in New York. What we wanted to do was, you know, have them go down to Earth and they see Doctor Strange and stuff. But it just felt too convenient that he was suddenly just down a road in an alley. And also everything up until then had been so fast-paced and all over the place. We wanted to go someplace peaceful.
The scene of Hela smashing Mjolnir to bits is one of the most memorable shots that Thor: Ragnarok has released thus far, so people took notice when that scene shifted from a New York City alleyway to an open-field in an unknown location. Big blockbusters like these tend to change a lot of things in post-production, but it's still a curious change. DigitalSpy asked director Taika Waititi about the setting shift and his answer was VERY Taika Waititi. While fields are unarguably cooler than alleyways, there was a bit more meat to the decision. Waititi felt that up until that point, everything is happening at such a fast pace. He believed that it was important to slow things down and have the scene take place somewhere a bit more peaceful.
The context of the scene also needed to be set someplace a bit more tranquil than New York City. The scene in question involved Thor, Loki and Odin, and it was a bit too important to be interrupted by taxi cabs and people shouting "Hey! I'm walkin' here!" A field fits the bill for the scene rather nicely if that's the case.
With Thor: Ragnarok almost within grasp, Marvel fever is once again in full swing. The blockbuster has already screened for press and it's gotten some extremely positive reviews thus far (CinemaBlend's Eric Eisenberg thought it was a blast). Already said to be the best Thor movie, Ragnarok follows Thor as he is stranded on the planet Sakaar by Hela, the Goddess of Death, and must team-up with Valkryie, the Incredible Hulk and his brother Loki to save all of Asgard.
Thor: Ragnarok is all set to hit theaters on November 3. Help the time fly faster by learning everything you can about the movie in our comprehensive guide. And if you haven't done so already, make sure to pre-order your tickets.
