Thor: Ragnarok To Introduce New Characters, And Re-introduce An Old Character?

Even with the next volume of Guardians Of The Galaxy starting to pick up, in addition to all of the excitement surrounding Captain America: Civil War, there are already some rumors surrounding what people can expect from Thor: Ragnarok, and the casting news is all over the place, ranging from the debut of Enchantress to the inclusion of everyone’s favorite green behemoth, Hulk.

Birth.Movies.Death. posted the Thor: Ragnarok Valkyrie rumor. According to their sources, Thor: Ragnarok may send Thor and Hulk together on a sort of cosmic road trip, during which they’ll encounter the Valkyries. What’s unclear is whether this simply means they’re meeting the Valkyrior — a team of warrior demi-goddesses — or specifically the superhero Valkyrie, a.k.a. Brunnhilde.

One of the big rumors coming from Birth.Movies.Death. is in regards to the Valkyries, who according to mythology are a group of women who usher fallen (Norse) warriors to the eternal reward and resting place in Valhalla. They are demi-goddesses and are led by Brünnhilde (in some mythology she is the daughter of Odin/Wotan), a fierce warrior in her own right much like Lady Sif. In the comics, however, she was specifically chosen by Odin to lead the Valkyior, has long been affiliated with the Defenders, and even associated with the Avengers. One of her arch-enemies is Enchantress, so people are thinking that if the Valkyrie are in the movie (and therefore part of MCU), then Enchantress can’t be too far behind.

It’s also being reported that Thor: Ragnarok selected Taika Waititi to direct because of the script’s overly dark tone, and Waititi’s experience with directing independent comedies might help bring some levity and light tones to the film.

The script, by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle, has been regarded as extremely dark and grim, which isn’t so surprising given that the use of the word “Ragnarok” suggests that Asgard may be facing it’s own version of the Norse Apocalypse. Whatever the reason is, the first Thor film proved that while it can be an action movie and that Chris Hemsworth is capable of bringing light comedy to the Norse God of Thunder.

This report is also coming on the heels of a flurry of rumors that Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk – The Avengers) will be reprising his role as rumors place Hulk on a “distant planet” that is “not Asgard and not Earth.”

Thor: Ragnarok opens November 3, 2017. Chris Hemsworth is expected to return as Thor, along with Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Jaimie Alexander as Sif.