Odin’s death in Thor: Ragnarok struck a perfect balance between tragedy and hope. But according to a recently revealed deleted scene, it could have gone down much differently. The original plan for Odin’s death was entirely different from how the pivotal moment ultimately played out. And Odin’s original death was way more brutal -- in more ways than one.
In the theatrical version of Thor: Ragnarok, Loki and Thor track down their father after learning his nursing home was destroyed. They’re relieved to find that he’s living peacefully in Norway -- though he is rapidly nearing death. Odin is able to find closure with his sons before he passes away naturally. And his death is most certainly not in vain -- it lays the foundation for New Asgard. A deleted scene available in the Infinity Saga box set shows that his death could have been the result of a much more unnerving moment.
The scene still features Thor and Loki, but they find Odin in much different circumstances. He is homeless, and wandering the streets of New York City, and though he recognizes his sons, it is not a peaceful reunion. Odin rambles as he speaks to them, asserting that Asgard is not real, and that Ragnarok and Hela are coming. He then transfers his powers to Thor, making him king, but not before giving Thor a glimpse of the impending destruction. And then, as if the whole scene isn’t heartbreaking enough, Hela appears.
She confronts her father, asking him why he kept her work a secret, and he remarks at how cold and brutal she has become. Hela then proves him right, stabbing Odin in the chest and killing him. Then, for good measure, she sets about destroying Mjolnir while Loki and Thor escape.
So, yeah, pretty brutal. This wasn’t the only deleted scene from Thor: Ragnarok. But it’s easily the one that would have changed the feel of the movie the most. It also explains some unanswered questions fans had about Thor: Ragnarok regarding some early glimpses we got of Odin during filming.
Original Thor: Ragnarok trailer clips showed Hela with Thor's hammer in an alley -- that New York alley -- and then that was changed to a field in Norway. Taika Waititi told Digital Spy why they made that change:
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.
And let’s be honest -- it’s much easier to make peace with Odin’s death when he’s not being brutally murdered by his daughter in a New York alley.
The Infinity Saga box set is a treasure trove for MCU fans looking to see how things could have been in the Avengers franchise. It also offers a glimpse at how Captain Marvel would have appeared if she’d made it into Avengers: Age of Ultron. It also features bonus and deleted scenes from the Iron Man films, some exciting additional footage from Avengers: Infinity War, and test footage from Black Panther, among other content.
