Though everything on Marvel’s upcoming slate looks to die for, my most anticipated film would have to be Thor: Ragnarok. Not only is it pulling from the character’s most epic story, it’s got Taika Waititi behind the camera, possibly my favorite director of the moment. From his sense of rhythm, to his unabashed love of the character, this may be the Thor stand alone film we’ve been waiting for. Since the film had just started production and didn’t have any real footage, Taiki created an exclusive, gut-busting short, showing what Thor was doing during Captain America: Civil War.
The footage begins with a retro logo for The New Zealand Documentary Board (the same one featured in Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows). After, the Captain America: Civil War logo comes up, but with lo-fi credits placed on top that say Team Thor.
The faux doc footage finds Thor still upset that he wasn’t invited to take part in Civil War, retreating to New Zealand and boarding with a roommate named Daryl. We see the two of them talking together, interview-style in chairs, Thor wearing Hawaiian-esque board shorts.
Then we’re at Daryl’s office, Thor is banging on the window with a goofy face, and a few seconds later, Daryl is helping him to compose an email to Stark.
It then switches to Thor’s home life. He’s letting a piece of chicken rot in his room before eating it, Mjolnir is resting in a tiny bed, laying on a pillow and under a blanket, and on the wall are a selection of messy drawings and photos, all connected together by strings and pins (think conspiracy theorist style). The amateur diagram has Loki in the center, and is Thor’s way of trying to piece together the conspiracy of the infinity stones. At the top, Thanos is pictured in a chair, with Thor mentioning that “this guy doesn’t like to stand up”.
There are also some shots of Thor in a children’s class, with scrambled drawings of the Avengers on the board. He points to a cute scribble of a purple man and is surprised that the kids recognize it as Vision.
The final section is Thor at lunch with Bruce Banner. Thor tries to prod Banner about what’s going on with Tony and Steve. Banner offers to call Tony for Thor, and appears to have a conversation with him. When asks if Tony wants to talk with Steve, its implied that he doesn’t have the time, leaving Thor upset and left out.
The clip then turns into a sizzle reel consisting of production art, pre-viz footage, possible makeup tests and more. So much stuff happens that it’s hard to get a grasp of it, but we get to see tons of colorful new aliens, Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster sitting with Loki, a winter landscape featuring a giant wolf creature that towers over a tiny figure, Thor with short hair and red warpaint over one eye, and the granddaddy of all footage, some unfinished CGI of Thor and Hulk (in full Planet Hulk armor), fighting in a giant arena. The final still before the Thor: Ragnarok logo is Hulk hurtling, both arms ready to smash against Surtur, a giant, flaming beast-like creature that is MASSIVE. After the title card, we get a quick look at Cate Blanchett’s Hela, giant head piece and dark, almost blacked-out face, looking really fierce.
Needless to say the footage is chilling, looking to be the biggest Marvel film yet!
SG
