page_title: Thor: Ragnarok
section_title: Cast
hierarchical_section_title: Thor: Ragnarok / Cast
caption_attribution_description: English: Kevin Feige, Taika Waititi, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, and Karl Urban speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Thor: Ragnarok", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.
context_page_description: Thor: Ragnarok is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to Thor and Thor: The Dark World, and the 17th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is directed by Taika Waititi from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and the writing team of Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor alongside Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins. In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor must escape the alien planet Sakaar in time to save Asgard from Hela and the impending Ragnarök.
  A third Thor film was confirmed in January 2014, with Kyle and Yost beginning work on the screenplay. The involvement of Hemsworth and Hiddleston was announced that October. Waititi joined the film as director a year later, after Thor: The Dark World director Alan Taylor chose not to return. Ruffalo joined the cast reprising the role of Hulk from previous MCU films, which allowed elements of the 2006 comic storyline "Planet Hulk" to be adapted for Ragnarok.
context_section_description: Chris Hemsworth as Thor: 
  An Avenger and the crown prince of Asgard, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name, who has become a "lone gunslinger" searching for the Infinity Stones. Hemsworth had become "a bit bored" with the character after portraying Thor four times previously, and wanted to take some risks and experiment: the character has shorter hair in the film, wears a different outfit, his hammer Mjolnir is destroyed, and he loses an eye. Director Taika Waititi added that "stripping" the character down like this allowed him to become a refugee at the end of the film. Waititi also wanted to use more of Hemsworth's comedic talents showcased in films like Vacation (2015) and Ghostbusters (2016), and cited Kurt Russell's portrayal of Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China (1986) as an influence on the character.
  Tom Hiddleston as Loki: 
  Thor's adoptive brother and nemesis, based on the deity of the same name. Hiddleston was interested in how Loki's attitude has changed, saying, "he is always a trickster. It is trying to find new ways for him to be mischievous". As the ruler of Asgard since the end of Thor: The Dark World (2013), Hiddleston notes that "Loki has devoted most of his efforts to narcissistic self-glorification. Not so much on good governance." He also added that "the idea that Thor might be indifferent to Loki is troubling for him... it's an interesting development."
  Cate Blanchett as Hela: 
  Thor's older sister and the goddess of death, based on the deity Hel, who is inadvertently released from prison following Odin's death. Screenwriter Eric Pearson included the idea of Hela being Thor's sister in one of his drafts at the encouragement of executive producer Brad Winderbaum. The decision to make Hela related to Thor, as opposed to only to Loki as in the comics and Norse mythology, came from needing more impact with Hela and Thor's final confrontation. By making the change, Pearson felt Hela became "the thing that [represents] what it is to rule Asgard, [Thor's] family, what he's been told, what he hasn't been told." Blanchett found it difficult to portray the character in a motion capture suit rather than costume, feeling Hela's headdress is "such a huge part of" the power of the character that she would have liked to wear it on set. Hela's design was taken from the comic Thor: God of Thunder by Jason Aaron, while the character Gorr from that comic, who has the ability "to manifest an infinite number of weapons", inspired a similar ability for Hela. Blanchett worked with stuntwoman Zoë Bell and Hemsworth's personal trainer Luke Zocchi, and studied capoeira for the role.
  Idris Elba as Heimdall: 
  The all-seeing, all-hearing Asgardian and former sentry of the Bifröst Bridge, based on the deity of the same name, who has gone into self-imposed exile during Loki's reign. After Hela invades Asgard, he helps to hide its vulnerable citizens. Describing Heimdall's character arc in the film, Winderbaum says, "he's gone from this elder statesmen, the gatekeeper to Asgard, to this badass warrior-wizard character who lives in the hills and kicks a lot of ass throughout the entire film."
  Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster: 
  One of the Elders of the Universe who rules the planet Sakaar and enjoys manipulating lesser life-forms. Goldblum described the character as "a hedonist, a pleasure-seeker, an enjoyer of life and tastes and smells". He also said that Waititi encouraged improvisation in order for Goldblum to "make [the character his] own". Waititi explained that Grandmaster does not have blue skin in the film as the character does in the comics, because Goldblum had already played a blue-colored character in Earth Girls Are Easy (1988), and because Waititi did not want to detract from Goldblum's personality by concealing his appearance. Grandmaster is the brother of Benicio del Toro's Collector from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), and producer Kevin Feige expressed interest in seeing the two together in a future film.
  Tessa Thompson as Scrapper 142 / Valkyrie: 
  A tough, hard-drinking Asgardian slave trade
caption: Kevin Feige, Taika Waititi and the cast of Thor: Ragnarok at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
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