User blog:Jmcdavid/Thor: Ragnarok Hype

Okay, we're going to get yet another new entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe this fall. Of course, I am talking about Thor: Ragnarok.

And judging by the trailers, it looks like it's going to be fairly awesome.

It will feature the return of Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner. That's right, the Hulk will be returning, and in, of all things, what looks like it's going to be a loose adaptation of the greatly beloved Planet Hulk story from the comic books.

It's also going to bring in Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, as was promised by the post credits scene from Strange's own movie.

Of course, we're also going to see the return of Tom Hiddleston's Loki.

For antagonists, we're going to see Hela, the Norse goddess of death, played by Cate Blanchett, Skurge the Executioner, played by Karl Urban, the ice wolf Fenris, and Surtur, the fire demon from Muspelheim, voiced by Clancy Brown.

We're also going to see the introduction of the characters Brunhilde the Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson, and En Dwi Gast, the Grandmaster, who will also apparently be in the same role as the Red King from Planet Hulk, played by Jeff Goldblum.

As for what we know about the plot, Thor and Loki start out on Earth, when they encounter Hela. Thor tries attacking her with Mjolnir, but she manages to catch it in midair, and completely shatter the mythical hammer. Thor then winds up on the planet Sakaar, where he is forced to fight gladitorial matches in an arena, and his first opponent is none other than the Hulk himself.

Now, here's the part that really has me hyped: 80% of the dialogue will be completely unscripted. It's no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe likes to use improv. In the first Iron Man film, as well as in the And-Man film a couple years ago, there were large chunks where they chose to rely on unscripted dialogue. And in 2011's Thor film, in the scene where Sir Anthony Hopkins, as Odin, banished Thor, Hopkins was told to come up with his own dialogue for that scene, and it led to a very amazing and memorable performance. So, a film where Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Hiddleston are allowed to rely on their own natural chemistry to create most of their dialogue should be pretty good! I'm especially looking forward to the interactions between Loki and the Hulk, since Tom Hiddleston has stated that Loki has "a few chips on his shoulder" after being pretty much demolished and called a "puny god" when they last met back in The Avengers. Videos of Thor's banishment and Hulk owning Loki are below.