''Thor: The Dark World'' is a 2013 American
superhero film
Superhero film/movie is a film genre categorized by the presence of superhero characters, individuals with extraordinary abilities who are dedicated to fighting crime, saving the world, or helping the innocent. It is sometimes considered a sub ...
based on the
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
character
Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
, produced by
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...
and distributed by
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and ...
. It is the sequel to ''
Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
'' (2011) and
the eighth film in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
(MCU). The film was directed by
Alan Taylor from a screenplay by
Christopher Yost
Christopher Lee Yost (; born February 21, 1973) is an American film, television, animation, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe with '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013) and '' Thor: Ragnarok'' ...
and the writing team of
Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Christopher Markus (born October 16, 1969) and Stephen McFeely (born February 24, 1970) are American screenwriters and producers. McFeely and Markus are the first and second most successful screenwriters of all time in terms of U.S. box office ...
. It stars
Chris Hemsworth
Christopher Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, and Bulman, Northern Territory, he rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series ''Home and Away'' (2004� ...
as
Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
alongside
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag{{efn, Some Hebrew sources claim that her birth name was "Neta-Lee Hershleg" ({{langx, he, נטע-לי הרשלג) and later, her first name was Americanized to "Natalie". {{Cite news , last=Shamir , first=Oron , date=August ...
,
Tom Hiddleston
Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is a British actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), beginning with ''Thor (film), Thor'' in 2011 and incl ...
,
Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan John Skarsgård (, ; born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Lars von Trier, appearing in ''Breaking the Waves'' (1996), ''Dancer in the Dark'' (2000), '' Dogville'' (2003), ''Melancholia' ...
,
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...
,
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...
,
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (; ; born 22 August 1967) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Simon Adebisi in '' Oz'', Mr. Eko in '' Lost'', Lock-Nah in '' The Mummy Returns'', Nykwana Wombosi in '' The Bourne Identity'', Heavy Duty ...
,
Kat Dennings
Katherine Victoria Litwack (born June 13, 1986), known professionally as Kat Dennings, is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Max Black in the CBS sitcom ''2 Broke Girls'' (2011–2017) and as Darcy Lewis in the Marvel ...
,
Ray Stevenson
George Raymond Stevenson (25 May 196421 May 2023) was a Northern Ireland-born actor, best known for his film and television work. He had a starring role as legionary Titus Pullo on the BBC/HBO television series ''Rome'' (2005–2007), and port ...
,
Zachary Levi
Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He starred as Chuck Bartowski in the action comedy series ''Chuck (TV series), Chuck'' (2007–2012), and as Captain Marvel (DC Comics), the titular character in the superher ...
,
Tadanobu Asano
better known by his stage name is a Japanese actor, director, and musician, who has had an extensive career working in both Japanese and international cinema. He has been nominated for five Japan Academy Film Prizes, twice for Best Actor and ...
,
Jaimie Alexander
Jaimie Lauren Alexander (née Tarbush; born March 12, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Jessi on the TV series ''Kyle XY'' and Sif (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Lady Sif in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films ''Thor (film) ...
,
Rene Russo
Rene Marie Russo (born February 17, 1954) is an American actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model in the 1970s, appearing on magazine covers such as '' Vogue'' and ''Cosmopolitan''. She made her film debut in the 1989 comedy '' ...
, and
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...
. In the film, Thor and
Loki
Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
(Hiddleston) team up to save the
Nine Realms from the
Dark Elves.
Development of a sequel to ''Thor'' began in April 2011 when producer
Kevin Feige
Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer. He has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a co ...
announced plans for it to follow the MCU crossover film ''
The Avengers
Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...
'' (2012). In July, ''Thor'' director
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...
withdrew from the sequel. Taylor was hired to replace him as director in January 2012. The supporting cast filled out that August with the hiring of Eccleston and Akinnuoye-Agbaje as the film's villains. Filming took place from September to December 2012, primarily in
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
, England, as well as in
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
and London. Taylor wanted the film to be more grounded than ''Thor'', inspired by his work on ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...
'' (2011–2019). He hired
Carter Burwell
Carter Benedict Burwell (born November 18, 1954) is an American film composer. He has frequently collaborated with the Coen brothers, having scored most of their films. He has also scored films by other directors such as Bill Condon, Todd Haynes ...
to compose the score, but Marvel replaced Burwell with
Brian Tyler
Brian Theodore Tyler (born May 8, 1972) is an American composer, conductor and arranger, best known for his film, television, and video game scores. In his 26-year career, Tyler has scored seven installments of the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise, ...
.
''Thor: The Dark World'' premiered at the
Odeon Leicester Square
The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...
in London on October 22, 2013, and was released in the United States on November 8, as part of
Phase Two of the MCU. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $644 million worldwide and becoming the
tenth highest-grossing film of 2013. It received praise for the performances of Hemsworth and Hiddleston, visual effects, and action sequences, but was criticized for its generic villain and lack of depth. Retrospectively, Taylor expressed dissatisfaction with the film and said Marvel substantially altered it from his original vision during
post-production
Post-production, also known simply as post, is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording indivi ...
. Two sequels have been released: ''
Thor: Ragnarok'' (2017) and ''
Thor: Love and Thunder'' (2022).
Plot
Eons ago,
Bor
Bor may refer to:
Places Populated places
* Bor (Tachov District), a town in Plzeň Region, Czech Republic
* Bor, Petnjica, Montenegro
* Bor, Russia, the name of many inhabited localities in Russia
* Bor District, a district in Serbia
** Bor, Se ...
—the father of
Odin
Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...
—wages war against the
Dark Elf Malekith, who seeks to unleash a weapon known as the
Aether
Aether, æther or ether may refer to:
Historical science and mythology
* Aether (mythology), the personification of the bright upper sky
* Aether (classical element), the material believed to fill the universe above the terrestrial sphere
** A ...
on the
Nine Realms. After defeating Malekith's forces on their homeworld of
Svartalfheim, Bor sends the Aether to a hidden world that no one can reach. However, Malekith escapes with his lieutenant Algrim and a handful of Dark Elves before going into
suspended animation
Suspended animation is the slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. States of suspended animation are common in micro-organisms and some plant tissue, such as seeds. Many animals, including l ...
.
In present-day
Asgard
In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...
, Odin imprisons
Loki
Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
for his various crimes on Earth. Meanwhile,
Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
and his companions repel marauders on
Vanaheim
In Norse cosmology, Vanaheimr (Old Norse for 'home of the Vanir'Byock (2005:158).) is a location associated with the Vanir, a group of gods themselves associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future.
Vanaheimr is attested in ...
to pacify the Nine Realms following the reconstruction of the
Bifröst
In Norse mythology, Bifröst (modern Icelandic: Bifröst ; from Old Norse: /ˈbiv.rɔst/), also called Bilröst and often anglicized as Bifrost, is a burning rainbow bridge that reaches between Midgard (Earth) and Asgard, the realm of the gods. ...
—the "Rainbow Bridge" between realms which was destroyed two years earlier. The Asgardians learn that the Convergence, a rare alignment of the Nine Realms, is imminent; as the event approaches, portals linking the worlds appear at random.
In
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, astrophysicist Dr.
Jane Foster
Jane Foster is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Journey into Mystery'' #84 (September 1962). Jane Foster ...
travels to an abandoned factory where such portals have appeared. Foster is teleported to the hidden world where the Aether is stored and it enters her body. Thor finds Foster and takes her to Asgard, where Odin warns that the Aether will not only kill her but herald a catastrophic prophecy.
Malekith, awakened by the Aether's release, attacks Asgard searching for Foster. Thor's mother
Frigga is killed trying to protect her. Thor recruits Loki, who knows of a secret portal to Svartalfheim where they plan to confront Malekith, to avenge Frigga. On Svartalfheim, Loki uses an illusion to trick Malekith into drawing the Aether out of Foster, but Thor's attempt to destroy it fails. Malekith merges with the Aether and leaves as Loki seemingly dies while killing Algrim.
Thor and Foster reunite in London with Foster's mentor, Dr.
Erik Selvig
Erik Selvig is a fictional character portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård in Marvel Cinematic Universe films ''Thor'' (2011), '' The Avengers'' (2012), '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013), '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015), and '' Thor: Love and Thun ...
. They learn that Malekith plans to plunge the entire universe into darkness by unleashing the Aether at the center of the Convergence in
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
. Thor battles Malekith across multiple worlds while Jane's group use their scientific equipment to transport Malekith to Svartalfheim, where he is crushed by his own ship. Thor returns to Asgard, where he declines Odin's offer to take the throne. After he leaves, Loki is revealed to be alive and impersonating Odin.
In a mid-credits scene,
Volstagg
Volstagg the Voluminous is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a charter member of the Warriors Three, a trio of Asgard (comics), Asgardian adventurers and supporting cast of Thor (Marvel Comi ...
and
Sif
In Norse mythology, Sif is a golden-haired goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturl ...
visit the
Collector and entrust the Aether to his care; with the
Tesseract
In geometry, a tesseract or 4-cube is a four-dimensional hypercube, analogous to a two-dimensional square and a three-dimensional cube. Just as the perimeter of the square consists of four edges and the surface of the cube consists of six ...
already in Asgard, they fear that having two
Infinity Stones
The Infinity Stones are fictional items in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise, based on the Infinity Gems of the Marvel Comics. As expounded across several interwoven MCU multimedia titles, the six Infinity Stones are repu ...
so close together would be dangerous. As they leave, the Collector states his desire to acquire the other five Stones. In a
post-credits scene
A post-credits scene (also known as a stinger, end tag, or credit cookie) is a short teaser clip that appears after the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV show, or video game has run. It is usually ...
, Foster and Thor reunite on Earth.
Cast
*
Chris Hemsworth
Christopher Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, and Bulman, Northern Territory, he rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series ''Home and Away'' (2004� ...
as
Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
:
An
Avenger
Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sa ...
and the
crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent.
''Crown prince ...
of
Asgard
In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr''; "Garden of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in several Old Norse sagas and mythological texts, including the Eddas, however it has also been suggested to be refe ...
, based on the
Norse mythological deity
of the same name.
Hemsworth stated that the film addresses unresolved issues regarding Thor's relationships from previous films, "For Thor and Jane, there are some unanswered questions now, since obviously he didn't stop in and catch up with her in ''
The Avengers
Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...
'' (2012). Thor might have some explaining to do in this one. And with Loki, we get down to the major bones of our conflict with everything that's come from ''Thor'' to ''Avengers'' to now."
Hemsworth added, "Thor's journey I think picks more so up from where we left the first one—About to take on the throne... and now coming to the realization of what responsibility comes with that. Also, Alan
aylor
Aylor may refer to:
* Aylor, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community
* Mark Aylor (born 1978), American former rugby union flanker
* J.M. Aylor House, a historic house in Hebron, Kentucky, United States
See also
* Ayler
{{disam ...
keeps talking about the dark side of that responsibility, and the secrets of being king or becoming sort of very political about what people need to know and what they want to know."
Hemsworth especially enjoyed the role of Thor in this film as he was able to, "... break him down and find his human qualities and his vulnerable side."
*
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag{{efn, Some Hebrew sources claim that her birth name was "Neta-Lee Hershleg" ({{langx, he, נטע-לי הרשלג) and later, her first name was Americanized to "Natalie". {{Cite news , last=Shamir , first=Oron , date=August ...
as
Jane Foster
Jane Foster is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Journey into Mystery'' #84 (September 1962). Jane Foster ...
:
An
astrophysicist and Thor's love interest
who is brought from Earth to Asgard by Thor after she is infected with a mysterious energy.
Producer
Kevin Feige
Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer. He has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a co ...
said, "
ile Thor was a fish out of water on Earth in the first two films (''Thor'' and ''The Avengers''), this time Jane is very much a fish out of water in Asgard."
Portman added, "It was a whole different adventure this time. Because Jane is the fish out of water. I didn't want to make it like ''
Bill & Ted
''Bill & Ted'' is an American science fiction comedy franchise created by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. It features William "Bill" S. Preston Esq. and Ted "Theodore" Logan, portrayed by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, respectively, two met ...
'', or like a
valley girl
A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural stereotype and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, f ...
dumped into Shakespeareland."
Portman also said the film finds Jane at a different place in her life, "Jane has moved, so she's now in London, not in Santa Fe anymore. Obviously she has gone through missing Thor and also being upset at him because he didn't come knock on her door when he was on her planet. She's definitely been getting over that and trying to move on."
Hemsworth's wife
Elsa Pataky
Elsa Lafuente Medianu (; born 18 July 1976), known professionally as Elsa Pataky, is a Spanish model and actress. Pataky is known for her leading role of Raquel Alonso in the Spanish teen drama '' Al salir de Clase'' (1997-2002)'','' before garn ...
stood in for Portman during the post-credits kissing scene due to a scheduling conflict.
*
Tom Hiddleston
Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is a British actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), beginning with ''Thor (film), Thor'' in 2011 and incl ...
as
Loki
Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
:
Thor's adoptive brother and nemesis, based on the deity of the
same name
''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...
, who forms an uneasy alliance with Thor against the Dark Elves.
On where he wished to take the character in the film, Hiddleston said, "I'd like to take
okito his absolute rock bottom. I'd like to see him yield, essentially, to his darkest instincts. Then, having hit rock bottom, maybe come back up. I think the fascination for me about playing Loki is that, in the history of the mythology and the comic books and the Scandinavian myths, is he's constantly dancing on this fault line of the dark side and redemption."
Hiddleston recalled, "When I met Alan
aylor
Aylor may refer to:
* Aylor, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community
* Mark Aylor (born 1978), American former rugby union flanker
* J.M. Aylor House, a historic house in Hebron, Kentucky, United States
See also
* Ayler
{{disam ...
he asked me how I thought I could do Loki again without repeating myself and I remembered talking with Kevin Feige when we were on the ''Avengers'' promotional tour. I said, 'OK, you've seen Thor and Loki be antagonistic for two films now. It would be amazing to see them fight side by side. I've been the bad guy now twice, so I can't be again, or otherwise I shouldn't be in the film. So we have to find a new role for me to play."
*
Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan John Skarsgård (, ; born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Lars von Trier, appearing in ''Breaking the Waves'' (1996), ''Dancer in the Dark'' (2000), '' Dogville'' (2003), ''Melancholia' ...
as
Erik Selvig
Erik Selvig is a fictional character portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård in Marvel Cinematic Universe films ''Thor'' (2011), '' The Avengers'' (2012), '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013), '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' (2015), and '' Thor: Love and Thun ...
:
Foster's mentor and colleague.
Skarsgård said, the film finds Selvig in a "disrupted mode" explaining, "Having a god in your head for a while creates some psychological problems", referring to the character's ordeal following ''The Avengers''.
*
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...
as
Heimdall
In Norse mythology, Heimdall (from Old Norse Heimdallr; modern Icelandic language, Icelandic Heimdallur) is a Æsir, god. He is the son of Odin and nine mothers. Heimdall keeps watch for invaders and the onset of Ragnarök from his dwelling Himi ...
:
The all-seeing, all-hearing Asgardian sentry of the
Bifröst Bridge, based on the mythological deity of the
same name
''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...
.
Elba said he has a larger role in the sequel, "In the new film we're going to get to know Heimdall the Asgardian a bit better, and we're going to get to know Asgard a bit better. I can't say too much, but the expansion of Thor in his world is going to be huge. My part was very small and functional in the first film".
*
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...
as
Malekith:
The ruler of the
Dark Elves of
Svartalfheim.
About Malekith's motivation, Eccleston said, "There is a kind of tragic quality to his quest. Because he's lost his wife, he's lost his children. He's lost everything. And he returns for revenge. And the agent for his revenge is the Aether. If he gets hold of that, he is omnipotent."
Eccleston continued, "What I thought about a great deal was revenge—there's huge amounts of revenge. One quote is: 'When you seek revenge, be sure to dig two graves.' I did a film called ''
Revengers Tragedy
''Revengers Tragedy'' is a 2002 film adaptation of the 1606 play '' The Revenger's Tragedy'' (attributed to Thomas Middleton in the credits, following the scholarly consensus). It was directed by Alex Cox and adapted for the screen by Cox's fe ...
'' where I played a guy called Vindici—from the word 'vindictive'—and he is the distillation of revenge. So, in a way, that was what I had to think of: how revenge can make you absolutely monomaniacal—though you're still trying to make it recognizably motive-led. It's just the personification of movie evil."
However Taylor stated that many scenes involving Malekith's backstory had to be cut from the film to make it more efficient.
Eccleston revealed that he speaks an invented language for the film explaining, "The Elvish language is definitely based on European languages. I think there's probably some
Finnish in there. It does have its logic and its rhythms. It also has many syllables and it's very difficult to do while remaining naturalistic. It's been a particular challenge for us but hopefully it gives the film some complexity and variety."
Eccleston also said the role required six hours of make-up and 45 minutes in wardrobe.
*
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (; ; born 22 August 1967) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Simon Adebisi in '' Oz'', Mr. Eko in '' Lost'', Lock-Nah in '' The Mummy Returns'', Nykwana Wombosi in '' The Bourne Identity'', Heavy Duty ...
as
Algrim / Kurse:
A Dark Elf and Malekith's trusted and loyal lieutenant who is transformed into a monstrous creature in order to destroy Thor.
Akinnuoye-Agbaje described Kurse as "an amalgamation of a bull and a lava-like creature. He has very animalistic tendencies but with this insatiable and unstoppable power. As an actor, that's one of the hardest things to embody. You have to realize you are probably the most powerful thing you could imagine. And you have to be that. You can't pretend, so that when you face Thor, it's real."
Akinnuoye-Agbaje stated the role required three hours of make-up a day and had to put on heavy duty prosthetics explaining, "The outfit weighed about 40 pounds. I'm sure there will be a certain amount of CGI but a good 80% was me in that suit."
About the character Akinnuoye-Agbaje said, "I suppose Algrim and Kurse would be the quintessential baddies, but in reality they are what I perceive as the scorn and the victims of the story. They are the elves who have basically lost their planet and their race to another race, the Asgardians. Here is a man/alien who places a noble objective beyond his own life and I think there is something extremely inspiring about that because he looks at the bigger picture and sees himself as a means to that end." Akinnuoye-Agbaje added, "I worked with director Alan Taylor in trying to maintain Algrim's humanity all the way throughout Kurse's transformation, so that even when you see Kurse the beast, you can still relate to him as being Algrim inside. And symbolically we did that by keeping the same piercing blue eyes throughout."
*
Kat Dennings
Katherine Victoria Litwack (born June 13, 1986), known professionally as Kat Dennings, is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Max Black in the CBS sitcom ''2 Broke Girls'' (2011–2017) and as Darcy Lewis in the Marvel ...
as
Darcy Lewis
Darcy, Darci or Darcey may refer to different people such as:
Science
* Darcy's law, which describes the flow of a fluid through porous material
* Darcy (unit), a unit of permeability of fluids in porous material
* Darcy friction factor in the ...
:
A
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
major who is
interning for Foster.
Her role in the film was expanded from the
comic relief
Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...
sidekick role she played in the first ''Thor'' film.
Dennings said her character is "really bad at real science in this first movie. In the second movie, she's more interested, but she still doesn't know anything about it. She loves Jane, she really wants Jane and Thor to be together. It's almost like her own little soap opera that she watches."
*
Ray Stevenson
George Raymond Stevenson (25 May 196421 May 2023) was a Northern Ireland-born actor, best known for his film and television work. He had a starring role as legionary Titus Pullo on the BBC/HBO television series ''Rome'' (2005–2007), and port ...
as
Volstagg
Volstagg the Voluminous is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a charter member of the Warriors Three, a trio of Asgard (comics), Asgardian adventurers and supporting cast of Thor (Marvel Comi ...
:
A member of the
Warriors Three
The Warriors Three are a group of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters served as supporting cast members in ''Thor (Marvel Comics), Thor''. The Warriors Three are the Asgard (comics), As ...
, a group of three Asgardian adventurers who are among Thor's closest comrades, known for both his hearty appetite and wide girth.
About the character Stevenson said, "He's got a heart the size of a planet that he wears on his sleeve, so he's like a big kid."
Regarding Volstagg's role in this film, Stevenson said, "Volstagg is struggling, he has a brood,
he Warriors Threeare fighting for hearth and home as much as for the idea of Asgard itself. That's where he has trouble." Explaining, "He's all too aware of how potentially threatening this new enemy is on both the home front and the battlefield."
*
Zachary Levi
Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He starred as Chuck Bartowski in the action comedy series ''Chuck (TV series), Chuck'' (2007–2012), and as Captain Marvel (DC Comics), the titular character in the superher ...
as
Fandral
Fandral the Dashing is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a charter member of the Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers consisting of Fandral, Hogun the Grim, and Volstagg the Val ...
:
A member of the Warriors Three, characterized as an irrepressible
swashbuckler
A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, and guile, and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, ...
and romantic.
Levi replaced
Joshua Dallas
Joshua Paul Dallas (born December 18, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Prince Charming/David Nolan in the ABC television series ''Once Upon A Time'' and starring as Ben Stone in the NBC/Netflix sci-fi drama series ''M ...
in the role due to Dallas's commitment on ''
Once Upon a Time
"Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...
''. Levi had been up for the role in the first film, but bowed out due to his commitment on ''
Chuck
Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to:
People
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet
* Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...
''.
Levi compared the character to Flynn Rider, the character he played in the animated feature, ''
Tangled
''Tangled'' is a 2010 American animated musical film, musical Adventure film, adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale "Rapunzel" in th ...
'', "Fandral is a little similar to Rider in some ways... He's like this
Lothario
Lothario is an Italian name used as shorthand for an unscrupulous seducer of women, based upon a character in '' The Fair Penitent'', a 1703 tragedy by Nicholas Rowe. . He's like
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...
. He loves ladies, as do I".
Regarding the dynamic of the Warriors Three, Levi said, "The Warriors Three are here to support Thor. We are his confidants, his best friends. We've all grown up together in a lot of ways and fought many a battle together, escaped death. To me it's the way best friends ought to be—they're there when you need to talk and they're there if you don't want to talk, and they're there if you need to escape from your father's place in a flying skiff!"
*
Tadanobu Asano
better known by his stage name is a Japanese actor, director, and musician, who has had an extensive career working in both Japanese and international cinema. He has been nominated for five Japan Academy Film Prizes, twice for Best Actor and ...
as
Hogun
Hogun the Grim is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a charter member of the Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers and supporting cast of ''Thor'' in the Marvel Universe.
Tadanobu ...
: A member of the Warriors Three, native of
Vanaheim
In Norse cosmology, Vanaheimr (Old Norse for 'home of the Vanir'Byock (2005:158).) is a location associated with the Vanir, a group of gods themselves associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future.
Vanaheimr is attested in ...
,
primarily identified by his grim demeanor.
*
Jaimie Alexander
Jaimie Lauren Alexander (née Tarbush; born March 12, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Jessi on the TV series ''Kyle XY'' and Sif (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Lady Sif in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films ''Thor (film) ...
as
Sif
In Norse mythology, Sif is a golden-haired goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturl ...
:
An Asgardian warrior, Thor's childhood friend and Foster's romantic rival, based on the deity of the
same name
''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...
.
Alexander said there is more character development for Sif and the film explores the Sif-Thor relationship.
Alexander elaborated, "I really tried to bring a little bit more vulnerability in this film. Sif is very much in love with Thor and very much cares about his well-being. So she kicks a lot of butt in this movie but she also opens her heart a lot."
*
Rene Russo
Rene Marie Russo (born February 17, 1954) is an American actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model in the 1970s, appearing on magazine covers such as '' Vogue'' and ''Cosmopolitan''. She made her film debut in the 1989 comedy '' ...
as
Frigga:
The wife of Odin, queen of Asgard, mother of Thor, and adoptive mother of Loki, based on the mythological deity of the
same name
''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...
.
Russo said that her role was expanded and explores Frigga's relationship with Loki, "You know, they cut me
ownin the first film.
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...
sent me a nice note, because he understood, he's an actor. You move on, what are you going to do? But I think they're going to need a good mom in the next film. Loki needs his mom. I have a lot of compassion for
oki But we might have to have a conversation about what he just did".
*
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...
as
Odin
Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...
:
The king of Asgard, father of Thor, and adoptive father of Loki, based on the deity of the
same name
''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...
,
who disapproves of Jane Foster being in Asgard.
Regarding Thor's relationship with his father, Hemsworth said, "
e conflict between Thor and Odin was so great in the first one... so, certainly they disagree as I think they always will at times but there's a far greater respect from each other. So it becomes, I guess, a more mature conversation, but there's more at stake this time, too. It's not sort of just their individual egos, the whole universe is at stake."
As to his approach Hopkins said, "I just play Odin like a human being, with maybe a little more dimension. I grow a beard, look hopefully impressive and keep it as real as possible."
Additionally,
Alice Krige
Alice Maud Krige (; born June 28, 1954) is a South African actress and producer. Her big break came in 1981, when she starred as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon in the British historical film ''Chariots of Fire'', and as Eva Gall ...
portrays
Eir
In Norse mythology, Eir (Old Norse: , "protection, help, mercy"Orchard (1997:36).) is a goddess or valkyrie associated with medical skill. Eir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the ...
, an Asgardian physician,
while
Talulah Riley
Talulah Jane Riley-Milburn''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005''; Ancestry.com. Retrieved 3 November 2015. (born 26 September 1985) is an English actress. She has appeared in films, including '' Pride & Prejudice'' ( ...
plays an Asgardian nurse.
Chris O'Dowd
Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish actor and comedian. He received wide attention as Roy Trenneman, one of the lead characters in the Channel 4 comedy ''The IT Crowd'', which ran for four seasons from 2006 to 2010. He has star ...
was cast as Richard,
a suitor of Jane Foster's.
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (; born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican actor. List of awards and nominations received by Benicio del Toro, His accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy ...
, who plays
Taneleer Tivan / The Collector in ''
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Comic book teams 1969 team
The 1969 version of the Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), Guardians of the Galaxy were the origi ...
'' (2014), appears in a mid-credits scene with
Ophelia Lovibond
Ophelia Lucy Lovibond (born 19 February 1986) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Carina in the films '' Thor: The Dark World'' and '' Guardians of the Galaxy,'' Izzy Gould in the BBC's '' W1A'', Patty Failure in Disney's '' Tim ...
, who plays his aide
Carina
Carina may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Carina, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane
* Carina Heights, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane
* Carina, Victoria, a locality in Mildura
Serbia
* Carina, Osečina, a village in the Kolubara District
...
.
Jonathan Howard plays Ian Boothby,
Darcy's intern.
Tony Curran
Tony Curran is a Scottish actor who has appeared in the film '' Underworld: Evolution'' (2006), the television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010), the miniseries ''Roots'' (2016), and the Netflix historical drama film ''Outlaw King'' (2018). He appear ...
plays
Bor
Bor may refer to:
Places Populated places
* Bor (Tachov District), a town in Plzeň Region, Czech Republic
* Bor, Petnjica, Montenegro
* Bor, Russia, the name of many inhabited localities in Russia
* Bor District, a district in Serbia
** Bor, Se ...
, Odin's father, based on the deity of the
same name
''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...
.
Clive Russell
Clive Russell (born 7 December 1945) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline in '' Ripper Street'', Angus O'Connor in ''Happiness'', Lord Lovat in '' Outlander'', and Brynden Tully in the HBO series ...
plays
Tyr, based on the deity of the
same name
''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...
.
Richard Brake
Richard Colin Brake (born 30 November 1964) is a Welsh and American actor. Following his film debut in '' Death Machine'' (1994), Brake had a supporting role as Joe Chill in ''Batman Begins'' (2005). He subsequently appeared in numerous horror f ...
portrays a captain in the
Einherjar
In Norse mythology, the einherjar (singular einheri; literally "army of one", "those who fight alone")Simek, Rudolf (1993). ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. Translated by Angela Hall. p. 71.Orchard (1997:36) and Lindow (2001:104). are those ...
.
Chris Evans makes an uncredited
cameo appearance
A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
as Loki masquerading as
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
, while Thor co-creator
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
makes a cameo appearance
as a patient in a mental ward.
Production
Development
In April 2011, before the release of ''
Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
'' (2011),
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...
president
Kevin Feige
Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer. He has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a co ...
stated that following ''
The Avengers
Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...
'' (2012), "Thor will go off into a new adventure."
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...
, director of ''Thor'', responded to his comments, saying, "It is kind of news to me. Here's what I would say to that: It's that I'm thrilled they're that confident. I shall wait for the audience to tell us whether there should be a second one, and then if that's a nice conversation to be had
mongall of us, that'd be thrilling. But I've got too much Irish superstitious blood in me to assume that ''Thor 2'' will happen. But if Marvel says so, then I guess it must be true".
Feige later explained that Marvel Studios would gauge how well ''Thor'' did at the box office before announcing sequels, but stated, "
Don Payne is working on story ideas for a part two. We've got various options with Ken
ranaghto discuss coming back, but right now the focus is on the first one. Don is, slowly but surely, thinking about where to take the character next should we be so lucky".
In June 2011,
Walt Disney Studios set a July 26, 2013, release date for the ''Thor'' sequel with
Chris Hemsworth
Christopher Hemsworth (born 11 August 1983) is an Australian actor. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, and Bulman, Northern Territory, he rose to prominence playing Kim Hyde in the Australian television series ''Home and Away'' (2004� ...
reprising his role as the title hero. It was also reported that Branagh would not be returning as director but would likely be involved in a producing capacity.
The ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' cited the long commitment necessary for a special effects-heavy epic and the pressure to start the script process right away as reasons for Branagh's departure, although he was initially enthused by the chance to direct the sequel.
Branagh noted, "It was a long time
aking the first filmand they were way too quick for me to get straight back into another,
utit was a pleasurable experience and a film I'm very proud of."
The following day, Marvel formally hired Payne, one of the credited writers of the first film, to script the sequel.
An early version of the film planned to feature
Hela
HeLa () is an immortalized cell line used in scientific research. It is the oldest human cell line and one of the most commonly used. HeLa cells are durable and prolific, allowing for extensive applications in scientific study. The line is ...
as the film's antagonist. However, Marvel Studios producer
Craig Kyle
Craig Paul Kyle (born November 3, 1971) is an American writer for Marvel Comics. He is best known for his creation of the character X-23. He has also produced several of Marvel's direct-to-DVD animated films and worked on several aspects of the ...
explained that the Creative Committee from
Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Marvel Enterprises, Inc.) was an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment Group, Marvel Ente ...
was driving most of the decisions for the film and did not want a female villain because they did not believe they could sell toys based on her to young boys.
In August,
Brian Kirk
Brian Kirk is a film and television director from Northern Ireland who has directed episodes of ''Game of Thrones'', FX (TV network), FX's ''The Riches'' and Showtime (TV network), Showtime's ''Brotherhood (Showtime TV series), Brotherhood'' a ...
entered early negotiations to direct the ''Thor'' sequel. The film would have marked Kirk's first time directing a big-budget motion picture, after having directed television series for
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
,
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
and the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, including ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...
'' (2011–2019).
In September 2011,
Tom Hiddleston
Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is a British actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), beginning with ''Thor (film), Thor'' in 2011 and incl ...
confirmed he would return in the sequel, speculating that in the film, "
oki willhave to take responsibility for what he's done".
Patty Jenkins
Patricia Lea Jenkins (born July 24, 1971) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. She has directed the feature films '' Monster'' (2003), ''Wonder Woman'' (2017), and '' Wonder Woman 1984'' (2020).
For the film ''Monster'', sh ...
, the director of ''
Monster
A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...
'' (2003) and the pilot episode of
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
's ''
The Killing'' (2011–2014), entered early negotiations with Marvel Studios and Disney to direct the film, after Kirk had passed due to contractual sticking points that arose during negotiations.
Later in the month, Feige stated the sequel would "take Thor literally to other worlds" and would "primarily be the journey of that character, of he and
Jane Foster
Jane Foster is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Journey into Mystery'' #84 (September 1962). Jane Foster ...
and how the new dynamic with his father is working out, as well as what are the broader stakes for The Nine Worlds".
On October 13, 2011, Marvel confirmed that Jenkins would direct the sequel and
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag{{efn, Some Hebrew sources claim that her birth name was "Neta-Lee Hershleg" ({{langx, he, נטע-לי הרשלג) and later, her first name was Americanized to "Natalie". {{Cite news , last=Shamir , first=Oron , date=August ...
would return to star.
Disney also moved the release date for the film to November 15, 2013.
Pre-production
In December 2011, Jenkins exited the project, citing "creative differences".
She stated, "I have had a great time working at Marvel. We parted on very good terms, and I look forward to working with them again".
Jenkins felt she could not have made a good film "out of ''Thor 2'' because I wasn't the right director... I could have made a great ''Thor'' if I could have done the story that I was wanting to do. But I don't think I was the right person to make a great ''Thor'' out of the story they wanted to do." Jenkins had intended to create a film based on the premise of ''
Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'', where Jane was stuck on Earth with Thor forbidden to come save her. After Thor eventually does travel to Earth, he and Jane would have discovered that
Malekith was "hiding the dark energy inside of Earth because he knows that
Odin
Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...
doesn't care about Earth, and so he's using Odin's disinterest in Earth to trick him".
Three days later, it was reported that Marvel was looking at
Alan Taylor and
Daniel Minahan
Daniel Minahan (born 1962) is an American television director and Filmmaking, filmmaker.
Career
Minahan has directed several episodes of the HBO original series ''Six Feet Under (TV series), Six Feet Under'', ''Deadwood (TV series), Deadwood'', ...
as prospective directors to replace Jenkins, and were also in the midst of hiring a writer to rewrite Don Payne's script, with the shortlist of possible writers consisting of
John Collee
John Gerald Collee (born 1955) is a Scottish/Australian doctor, novelist and screenwriter whose films have three times been nominated for Oscars. '' Master and Commander'' was nominated for Best Film 2003, ''Happy Feet'' won Best Animation in 2 ...
,
Robert Rodat
Robert Rodat (born c. 1960) is an American film and television writer and television producer. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for writing Steven Spielberg's war epic '' Saving Private Ryan''.
Career
Rodat ...
and
Roger Avary
Roger Roberts Avary (born August 23, 1965) is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his work with Quentin Tarantino on the script for ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), for which they won Best Original Screenpla ...
.
At the end of the month, Alan Taylor, best known for directing episodes of the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'', was chosen to direct the sequel.
Feige mentioned Taylor's work on the series ''
Mad Men
''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
'' (2007–2015), ''
Boardwalk Empire
''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. The series sta ...
'' (2010–2014) and ''Game of Thrones'' as reasons for his hiring, saying "With Alan's direction we got a few more layers of patina, of texture, of reality into our golden realm."
As Feige looked at what worked for the first ''Thor'' film and thought what he could retool from that, Taylor decided to "bring some ''Game of Thrones'' to it" in order to make a darker and more grounded sequel in comparison to Branagh's work in the previous film.
By January 10, Marvel Studios had commissioned screenwriter Rodat to rewrite the sequel and Hiddleston stated that filming was expected to begin in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in the summer of 2012.
Hemsworth later confirmed that filming was scheduled to begin in August.
Hemsworth also revealed that the film would have a more
Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
-influenced feel, elaborating "I think the science fiction element to ''Thor'' ... the danger is it falls a little bit into the world of it's 'tough to throw a light to.' I think of big waterfalls and mountains and a Viking influence, where the
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
kind of grew from. Having that in Asgard is going to make it all the more special and that's what Alan
aylor
Aylor may refer to:
* Aylor, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community
* Mark Aylor (born 1978), American former rugby union flanker
* J.M. Aylor House, a historic house in Hebron, Kentucky, United States
See also
* Ayler
{{disam ...
wants to bring to it."
Feige said "while the relationship between Loki and Thor certainly has changed
fter the events of the movie ''The Avengers''and has progressed, a lot of ''Thor 2'' is picking up where it left off in terms of Jane, who you just saw for a moment on a computer monitor, and also what's been going on in the
Nine Realms without the Asgardians being able to use the Bifrost." Feige also said that while Loki has a part, "there will be a different villain, another big villain".
In May 2012,
Mads Mikkelsen
Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen (; born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor. He rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the Pusher (film series), ''Pusher'' film trilogy (1996, 2004), Detective Sergea ...
began talks to play one of the villains in the film and
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...
, who played Odin in the first film, committed to returning in the sequel.
Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...
, who eventually joined the film series as
Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange, was also in the running to play Malekith the Accursed.
At the end of the month, Disney moved up the release date for the film a week ahead of the previous date to November 8, 2013.
By June 2012, much of the first film's supporting cast was confirmed to return, including
Idris Elba
Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...
,
Jaimie Alexander
Jaimie Lauren Alexander (née Tarbush; born March 12, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Jessi on the TV series ''Kyle XY'' and Sif (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Lady Sif in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films ''Thor (film) ...
,
Ray Stevenson
George Raymond Stevenson (25 May 196421 May 2023) was a Northern Ireland-born actor, best known for his film and television work. He had a starring role as legionary Titus Pullo on the BBC/HBO television series ''Rome'' (2005–2007), and port ...
and
Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan John Skarsgård (, ; born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Lars von Trier, appearing in ''Breaking the Waves'' (1996), ''Dancer in the Dark'' (2000), '' Dogville'' (2003), ''Melancholia' ...
.
Also in June,
Joshua Dallas
Joshua Paul Dallas (born December 18, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Prince Charming/David Nolan in the ABC television series ''Once Upon A Time'' and starring as Ben Stone in the NBC/Netflix sci-fi drama series ''M ...
announced that he would not be reprising the role of
Fandral
Fandral the Dashing is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a charter member of the Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers consisting of Fandral, Hogun the Grim, and Volstagg the Val ...
.
Dallas had initially intended to return,
but had to bow out due to his commitment on the television show, ''
Once Upon a Time
"Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...
'' (2011–2018),
and
Zachary Levi
Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He starred as Chuck Bartowski in the action comedy series ''Chuck (TV series), Chuck'' (2007–2012), and as Captain Marvel (DC Comics), the titular character in the superher ...
was cast in his place.
Levi was originally up for the role in the first film but scheduling conflicts with ''
Chuck
Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to:
People
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet
* Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...
'' (2007–2012) forced him to drop out.
In July 2012, Mikkelsen stated he would not be appearing in the sequel due to prior commitments, "That's not happening unfortunately. I had a meeting with
he filmmakers
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
but it was a bit too late and then ''
Hannibal
Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.
Hannibal's fat ...
'' came in...It's just not happening".
At the 2012
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
, it was announced that the film would be titled ''Thor: The Dark World''.
At the end of the month, residents near
Bourne Wood in
Surrey, England
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
were notified that a film going by the
working title
A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...
, ''Thursday Mourning'' would be filming in the area.
In August of that year,
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor whose work has encompassed Hollywood blockbusters and arthouse films, television dramas, Shakespearean stage performances and science fiction, most notably the Ninth Doctor, ni ...
entered final negotiations to play Malekith,
and the film was scheduled to shoot in
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
, where Taylor shot parts of ''Game of Thrones''.
By August 22,
Kat Dennings
Katherine Victoria Litwack (born June 13, 1986), known professionally as Kat Dennings, is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Max Black in the CBS sitcom ''2 Broke Girls'' (2011–2017) and as Darcy Lewis in the Marvel ...
was hired to reprise her role as Darcy Lewis and
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (; ; born 22 August 1967) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Simon Adebisi in '' Oz'', Mr. Eko in '' Lost'', Lock-Nah in '' The Mummy Returns'', Nykwana Wombosi in '' The Bourne Identity'', Heavy Duty ...
was cast as
Algrim.
At the end of the month, film crews for ''Thursday Mourning'' began set construction at
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...
near
Amesbury
Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settl ...
, England.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began on September 10, 2012, in Bourne Wood, Surrey, England,
under the working title ''Thursday Mourning''.
A few weeks later,
Clive Russell
Clive Russell (born 7 December 1945) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline in '' Ripper Street'', Angus O'Connor in ''Happiness'', Lord Lovat in '' Outlander'', and Brynden Tully in the HBO series ...
was cast as
Tyr, and
Richard Brake
Richard Colin Brake (born 30 November 1964) is a Welsh and American actor. Following his film debut in '' Death Machine'' (1994), Brake had a supporting role as Joe Chill in ''Batman Begins'' (2005). He subsequently appeared in numerous horror f ...
was cast as an
Einherjar
In Norse mythology, the einherjar (singular einheri; literally "army of one", "those who fight alone")Simek, Rudolf (1993). ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. Translated by Angela Hall. p. 71.Orchard (1997:36) and Lindow (2001:104). are those ...
captain.
At the end of the month, Jaimie Alexander was injured on the London film set, after she slipped while walking in the rain.
On October 12, 2012, production moved to Iceland with filming taking place in Dómadalur,
Skógafoss
Skógafoss (pronounced ) is a waterfall on the Skógá River in the south of Iceland at the cliff marking the former coastline. After the coastline had receded (it is now at a distance of about from Skógar), the former sea cliffs remained, paral ...
,
Fjaðrárgljúfur and
Skeiðarársandur
Skeiðarársandur () is an Icelandic glacial outwash plain, a vast expanse of sand generated by the transport of debris by the Skeiðará and other rivers, whose flow is generated by the Skeiðarárjökull glacier and fed by the volcanic syste ...
. ''
Iceland Review
''Iceland Review'' is the oldest English-language magazine about Iceland, having originally been published in August 1963. It also runs a news website which covers current events in Iceland. Since 2009, the online version is offered in German as ...
'' described the shoot as being among the most extensive film projects to have ever taken place in Iceland.
The film's official synopsis was released, which revealed that
Christopher Yost
Christopher Lee Yost (; born February 21, 1973) is an American film, television, animation, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe with '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013) and '' Thor: Ragnarok'' ...
and
Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Christopher Markus (born October 16, 1969) and Stephen McFeely (born February 24, 1970) are American screenwriters and producers. McFeely and Markus are the first and second most successful screenwriters of all time in terms of U.S. box office ...
had also contributed to the screenplay.
Markus and McFeely said Feige had approached them in between writing drafts for ''
Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014) to work on the ''Dark World'' script.
Three days later, Disney announced that the film would be released in
3D.
In late October, filming commenced at the
Old Royal Naval College
The Old Royal Naval College are buildings that serve as the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) ...
in
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
, London.
Filming also took place at
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of Pinewood Group, the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not ...
and
Longcross Studios
Longcross Film Studios is a film and television production facility in Longcross, Surrey, approximately west of central London. Built on the site of the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment, the studio began operations in 2006.
Th ...
in Surrey between October and December 2012.
Other filming locations included
Wembley
Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...
,
Borough Market
Borough Market is a wholesale and retail market hall in Southwark, London, England. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century. The present buildings were built ...
,
Hayes
Hayes may refer to:
* Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name
** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States
* Hayes (given name)
Businesses
* Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes
* Hay ...
and Stonehenge.
Alexander
tweeted
A tweet (officially known as a post since 2023) is a short status update on the social networking site Twitter (officially known as X since 2023) which can include images, videos, GIFs, straw polls, hashtags, mentions, and hyperlinks. Around ...
that principal photography wrapped on December 14, 2012.
In a 2013 report on film production costs for films from FilmL.A. Inc., indicated a gross budget of $170 million, with a UK tax offset of $17.3 million for ''Thor: The Dark World''.
In 2016 Disney company accounts stated the budget spend was $237.6 million on ''Thor: The Dark World'' but $37 million of this was offset by payments from the UK tax authority.
Kramer Morgenthau, who worked with Taylor on ''Game of Thrones'', was brought in as the
director of photography
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
. Morgenthau said, "We wanted a grittier, boots-on-the-ground feeling, inspired by what Alan and I had done on ''Game of Thrones''. We wanted the realms to feel grounded, like a real place, while at the same time respecting the magical 'planet of the Gods' feeling and theme." ''Thor: The Dark World'' was Morgenthau's first time shooting a feature film digitally. For the film, Morgenthau chose the
Arri Alexa Plus, although he tested with the
Sony F65 but found the Alexa to be more pleasing. In addition to the Alexa,
Red Epic
Red Digital Cinema, LLC is an American camera manufacturer specializing in digital cinematography headquartered in Foothill Ranch, California, United States. It has been owned by Nikon since April 2024.
The company has studios in Hollywood, Lo ...
and
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is a 21.0 effective megapixel full-frame CMOS digital single-lens reflex camera made by Canon, the first Canon EOS camera to have video recording capabilities. It succeeds the EOS 5D and was announced on 17 September 20 ...
cameras were used for
second unit
A second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming s ...
filming. With the Alexa, Morgenthau used
Panavision
Panavision Inc. is an American motion picture equipment company (law), company founded in 1954 specializing in cameras and photographic lens, lenses, based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk a ...
anamorphic
Anamorphic format is a cinematography technique that captures widescreen images using recording media with narrower native Aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios. Originally developed for 35 mm movie film, 35 mm film to create widescreen pres ...
lenses. Morgenthau said, "The lenses brought some of the magic and mystery of photochemical back to digital, that big-movie look." Morgenthau also stated that ''Thor: The Dark World'' was easily the most technically complex project that he has worked on but said, "It's all the same concept and the same principles as in a smaller film. You just scale it up. You do a lot more prep. We had three months of prep and loads of time to pre-rig stages. Part of it is having a really good crew—it's definitely not a one-man show."
Post-production
In April 2013, McFeely said that "a lot" of writers had contributed to the film's script, and he and Markus were uncertain if they would receive final screenwriting credit on the film;
Markus and McFeely along with Yost received final screenwriting credit, with Payne and Rodat receiving story credit.
In July 2013, Dennings told reporters that the film was about to head into reshoots.
In August, Taylor said he shot extra scenes with Hiddleston and was about to shoot more with Hopkins. Taylor explained that it was all a part of the "Marvel process" saying, "We're doing full scenes, scenes that were not in the movie before. We're adding scenes, creating scenes, writing scenes for the first time. The one
nvolving Lokiwas a fun connective scene... We realised how well Loki was working in the movie, and we wanted to do more with him. So it was that kind of thing, it was like, 'Oh, we could do this, we could jam this in here' because he's such a wonderful guy to watch do his stuff."
Also in August,
IMAX Corporation
IMAX Corporation is a Canadian production theater company which designs and manufactures IMAX cameras and Projection screen, projection systems as well as performing film development, production, post-production and distribution to IMAX-affiliat ...
and Marvel Entertainment announced that the film would be digitally re-mastered into the
IMAX 3D
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating, with ...
format and released into IMAX 3D theaters internationally beginning October 30, 2013.
Taylor said ''The Avengers'' writer/director
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...
rewrote several scenes in the film explaining, "Joss came in to save our lives a couple of times. We had a major scene that was not working on the page at all in London, and he basically got airlifted in, like a SWAT team or something. He came down, rewrote the scene, and before he got back to his plane I sort of grabbed him and said, 'And this scene and this scene?' And he rewrote two other scenes that I thought had problems."
In October 2013,
Tony Curran
Tony Curran is a Scottish actor who has appeared in the film '' Underworld: Evolution'' (2006), the television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010), the miniseries ''Roots'' (2016), and the Netflix historical drama film ''Outlaw King'' (2018). He appear ...
tweeted that he would be portraying Odin's father,
Bor
Bor may refer to:
Places Populated places
* Bor (Tachov District), a town in Plzeň Region, Czech Republic
* Bor, Petnjica, Montenegro
* Bor, Russia, the name of many inhabited localities in Russia
* Bor District, a district in Serbia
** Bor, Se ...
, in a flashback sequence.
In November 2013, Feige stated that the film was intended to be the conclusion of the "Loki trilogy", which examined the relationship of Thor and Loki throughout ''Thor'', ''The Avengers'' and this film.
Loki was originally intended to die in the film, however, after test audiences did not believe he was actually dead, Marvel Studios decided to alter the character's ending.
The film's
mid-credits scene
A post-credits scene (also known as a stinger, end tag, or credit cookie) is a short teaser clip that appears after the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV show, or video game has run. It is usually i ...
was directed by
James Gunn
James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1996). He then began working as a director, starting wi ...
, the director of Marvel Studios' ''
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Comic book teams 1969 team
The 1969 version of the Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), Guardians of the Galaxy were the origi ...
'' (2014).
The film underwent multiple changes during the reshoots and editing process, with Taylor believing his initial version "had more childlike wonder", including starting the film with children, and an overall "more magical quality". He noted the reshoots "inverted" the original plot in certain ways, such as Loki no longer dying.
The film's visual effects were completed by seven special effects studios, including
Double Negative
A double negative is a construction occurring when two forms of grammatical negation are used in the same sentence. This is typically used to convey a different shade of meaning from a strictly positive sentence ("You're not unattractive" vs "You ...
and
Luma Pictures
Luma Pictures is a visual effects/ animation studio with facilities in Los Angeles, Melbourne and Vancouver. Founded in 2002 by Payam Shohadai and Jonathan R. Beutel, the company is best known for their creatures, environments, and effects.
Lum ...
.
Blur Studio was the lead studio behind the film's prologue sequence taking place 5,000 years before the start of the film, on the Dark Elves homeworld of
Svartalfheim. The sequence consisted mostly of computer graphics with live-action shots interwoven throughout. The use of CG allowed for greater freedom of movement by the characters as the live-action costumes were too constrictive.
Taylor wanted Asgard in this film to have a more natural look than its predecessor. To achieve this, crews filmed the coast of Norway with an Arri Alexa camera for three days in a helicopter, capturing six hours of footage. Double Negative then embedded their CG rendering of Asgard on shots of the natural landscape. Double Negative visual effects supervisor Alex Wuttke said, "The benefit of that is that you have some real-world terrain to work with – so you have buildings that have to convey natural features. Then from there we went in there populating the terrain with different buildings."
For scenes taking place on Svartalfheim, production filmed in Iceland with Double Negative adding ruins, mountains, Dark Elf ships, and skies.
For the shot of the levitating truck, which was used in the film to demonstrate the strange phenomena brought on by the coming of the alignment of the worlds, filmmakers attached a cement truck to a large hydraulic rig, which could be programmed to change speed and movement.
In order to create Algrim's transformation into Kurse, Double Negative morphed live action performances of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as both Algrim and Kurse. Double Negative then added in smoke and lava-like effects.
The film's climactic battle sequence takes place through the nine worlds by the use of portals. Visual effects supervisor Jake Morrison said, "We ended up calling this 'time toffee', so as you punch through from one realm to another it's almost like cling film or a slightly gelatinous membrane you have to pass through. It bends a little bit then rips and spits the person out. The other thing we wanted to do was to make sure it was quite fast from an editorial point of view. In the fight scenes there are times when Thor and Malekith are portaling all over the place, quite frankly. We made sure we always kept up the momentum and never stopped the fight. It was a way of making sure the audience weren't conscious there was an effect going on."
Music
In August 2012,
Patrick Doyle
Patrick Doyle (born 6 April 1953) is a Scottish composer and occasional actor best known for his film scores. During his 50-year career in film, television and theatre, he has composed the scores for over 60 feature films. A longtime collaborato ...
said that he had discussions with the director about potentially returning to
score SCORE may refer to:
*SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program
* SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network
*SCORE! Educational Centers
*SCORE International, an offroad racing organization
*Sarawak Corrido ...
the film.
By April 2013,
Carter Burwell
Carter Benedict Burwell (born November 18, 1954) is an American film composer. He has frequently collaborated with the Coen brothers, having scored most of their films. He has also scored films by other directors such as Bill Condon, Todd Haynes ...
had been hired to compose the score,
but by the following month he left the film over creative differences.
In June 2013, Marvel hired
Brian Tyler
Brian Theodore Tyler (born May 8, 1972) is an American composer, conductor and arranger, best known for his film, television, and video game scores. In his 26-year career, Tyler has scored seven installments of the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise, ...
, who scored ''
Iron Man 3
''Iron Man 3'' is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man'' (2008) an ...
'' (2013), to replace Burwell.
Tyler said the previous film had an "attitude and
asgrounded in limitations" whereas the Thor film allowed for "all-out regal themes that could be as epic as I could make them." The composer described ''The Dark World'' as "science fiction meeting classic medieval war", leading to a score that drew from works of both genres such as ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' and ''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...
''.
Azam Ali
Azam Ali () is an Iranian musician. As of 2013, she has released ten albums with the bands VAS, Roseland, and Niyaz, as well as five solo records.
Biography
Born in Tehran on 3 October 1970, Ali spent most of her childhood in Panchgani, In ...
is a featured vocalist on the score.
The soundtrack was released digitally on October 28, 2013.
Marketing

In March 2013, Marvel announced the release of a two-issue comic book prelude by writers
Craig Kyle
Craig Paul Kyle (born November 3, 1971) is an American writer for Marvel Comics. He is best known for his creation of the character X-23. He has also produced several of Marvel's direct-to-DVD animated films and worked on several aspects of the ...
and
Christopher Yost
Christopher Lee Yost (; born February 21, 1973) is an American film, television, animation, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe with '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013) and '' Thor: Ragnarok'' ...
and artist
Scot Eaton
Scot Eaton is a Comic book creator, comic book artist, best known for his work on ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'', ''Thor (Marvel Comics), Thor'', ''X-Men: Endangered Species'', and ''X-Men: Messiah Complex''.
Career
In the early 1990s Eato ...
in June 2013.
In April 2013, Marvel released the first trailer for ''Thor: The Dark World''. ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' said, "This trailer fits nicely into that larger marketing push for Marvel's brand. It puts all of the recognizable characters from the first film front and center, presents the action as a team event reminiscent of the Avengers, and once again Loki—who was quite popular with audiences—makes an appearance."
The ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' said, "Evident throughout the trailer is director Alan Taylor's influence; the ''Game of Thrones'' director's hand can be seen in the battle sequences, and Asgard—a bright and shiny kingdom under ''Thor'' director Kenneth Branagh—seems grittier in the sequel."
In July at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, Hiddleston introduced footage from the film to audiences in character as Loki.
Also in July,
Gameloft
Gameloft SE is a French video game company based in Paris, founded in December 1999 by Ubisoft co-founder Michel Guillemot. The company operates 18 development studios worldwide, and publishes games for mobile devices, video game consoles, and ...
announced that a mobile video game titled, ''Thor the Dark World: The Official Game'', would be released in conjunction with the release of the film in November.
The theatrical poster for the film was released in early August 2013. Kirsten Acuna of ''
Business Insider
''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...
'' criticized the poster for its lack of originality, noting its similarities to one of the posters of ''Iron Man 3'', both of which included the female lead clinging to the male lead, with both looking in opposite directions, antagonists prominently displayed in the background and supporting characters featured "on the side".
Additionally, Marvel released a second trailer for the film as part of
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
's Geek Week.
''Forbes'' said, "this 150-second trailer is basically just an extended version of last April's 106-second teaser" and that "this trailer fails to showcase what's new this time around... making audiences question if they really don't have much else to offer."
The ''Los Angeles Times'' said, that the trailer suggests "an ominous, epic scale for the sequel" and that "the collaboration between Thor and Loki promises to be especially interesting."
Later in the month, producer Kevin Feige and cast members Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins presented additional footage at Disney's
D23 Expo.
Also in August 2013, Disney announced plans to promote the film with an attraction at
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
.
The attraction called ''Thor: Treasures of Asgard'', located next to the Stark Industries exhibit inside
Innoventions in
Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world
* Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium
* ''Tom ...
, opened on November 1, 2013, and features displays of Asgardian relics and transports guests to Odin's throne room, where they are greeted by Thor.
The eighth episode of ''
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', titled "
The Well
The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, normally shortened to The WELL or The Well, is a virtual community founded in 1985. It is one of the oldest continuously operating virtual communities. By 1993 it had 7,000 members, a staff of 12, and gross annu ...
", takes place in the aftermath of the events of ''Thor: The Dark World''. It first aired on November 19, 2013.
Jaimie Alexander reprised her role as Sif in the ''Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' episode "
Yes Men
The Yes Men are a culture jamming activist duo and network of supporters created by Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos. Through various actions, the Yes Men primarily aim to raise awareness about problematic social and political issues. To date, t ...
", which aired on March 11, 2014.''
Release
Theatrical
The
world premiere
A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work.
History
Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...
of ''Thor: The Dark World'' took place on October 22, 2013, at the
Odeon Leicester Square
The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...
in London.
The film was released theatrically in the UK eight days later, on October 30.
The film held its North American premiere at the
El Capitan Theatre
El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple (now known as the El Capitan Entert ...
in
Hollywood, Los Angeles
Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
, and was released into U.S. theaters on November 8, 2013.
''Thor: The Dark World'' is part of
Phase Two of the MCU.
Home media
''Thor: The Dark World'' was released by
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) is the home entertainment distribution arm of the Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, a ...
for digital download on February 4, 2014, and on
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...
, 3D Blu-ray, and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
on February 25, 2014. The physical media release includes deleted scenes, extended scenes, a gag reel, audio commentary by the cast and crew, and a
Marvel One-Shot short film entitled ''All Hail the King'',
featuring
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...
reprising his role as
Trevor Slattery
Trevor Slattery is a character portrayed by Ben Kingsley in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). An actor hired to portray the legendary terrorist leader of the Ten Rings dubbed " the Mandarin", he first appeared in the film ''Iron Man 3'' (201 ...
from ''
Iron Man 3
''Iron Man 3'' is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man'' (2008) an ...
''.
The film was also collected in a 13-disc
box set
A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists ...
, titled "
Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two Collection", which includes all of the Phase Two films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was released on December 8, 2015.
Reception
Box office
''Thor: The Dark World'' earned $206.4 million in North America and $438.4 million in other markets for a worldwide total of $644.8 million.
It surpassed the gross of its predecessor after just 19 days of its release.
''
Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...
'' calculated the film's net profit as $139.4 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.
''Thor: The Dark World'' made an estimated $7.1 million in Thursday night showings, more than double the midnight gross of its predecessor.
On Friday, November 8, 2013, the film topped the box office with $31.9 million (including Thursday night earnings), which is 25% higher than the original film's opening-day gross.
Through Sunday, the film remained at the No. 1 spot with $85.7 million, which is a 30% increase over its predecessor's opening weekend.
This was the largest November opening for a film distributed by Disney, surpassing ''
The Incredibles
''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American animated superhero film written and directed by Brad Bird. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer ...
''.
''Thor: The Dark World'' topped the box office in North America during its first two weekends,
before being overtaken by ''
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'' in its third weekend.
On its midweek opening day of Wednesday, October 30, 2013, ''Thor: The Dark World'' earned $8.2 million from 33 territories,
including the United Kingdom and France, where it opened higher than its predecessor.
During its first three days, the film earned $45.2 million,
and by the end of the weekend, after expanding into three more territories, it totaled $109.4 million over five days, finishing in first place in all 36 countries.
Its largest openings were recorded in China ($21.0 million),
the United Kingdom ($13.8 million), and France ($9.94 million).
It topped the box office outside North America on its first three weekends of release.
In total earnings, its largest markets are China ($55.3 million), Russia and the CIS ($35.7 million), Brazil ($27.7 million), and the United Kingdom ($26.2 million).
Critical response
The
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
reported an approval rating of , with an average score of , based on reviews. The website's consensus reads, "It may not be the finest film to come from the Marvel Universe, but ''Thor: The Dark World'' still offers plenty of the humor and high-stakes action that fans have come to expect."
It was the lowest-rated MCU film on Rotten Tomatoes until the release of ''
Eternals'' in 2021.
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 54 out of 100 based on 44 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data.
Background
Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an "A−" average, based on a grading scale ranging from A+ to F.
Ben Child of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' said, "Thanks to Hiddleston and Hemsworth's impressive collective charisma, ''Thor: The Dark World'' is far from a franchise killer."
Justin Chang of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote, "This robust, impersonal visual-effects showpiece proves buoyant and unpretentious enough to offset its stew of otherwise derivative fantasy/action elements."
Alonso Duralde of ''
TheWrap
''TheWrap'' is an American online news organization that covers the business of entertainment and media. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles. The site features original reporting, analysis, and editor ...
'' said, "''Thor: The Dark World'' delivers the goods—action, otherworldly grandiosity, romance, humor—above and beyond its predecessor".
Simon Abrams, writing for
RogerEbert.com
''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...
said, "There's just enough tension and humor in ''Thor: The Dark World'' to make the film's otherwise listless proceedings worth watching, but only just."
Conversely, Tim Robey of ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' said, "It feels entirely made by committee—the definition of house style, without a personal stamp in sight."
Leslie Felperin of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' said, "Although director Alan Taylor manages to get things going properly for the final battle in London, the long stretches before that on Asgard and the other branches of
Yggdrasil
Yggdrasil () is an immense and central sacred tree in Norse cosmology. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds.
Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in t ...
are a drag, like filler episodes of ''Game of Thrones'' but without the narrative complexity, mythical heft or all-pervading sexiness."
Michael Phillips of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' described ''Thor: The Dark World'' as having the "same old threats of galaxy annihilation spiced with fairly entertaining fish-out-of-water jokes".
Jeannette Catsoulis of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' said, "the battle scenes are as lacking in heat and coherence as the central love story".
Taylor expressed dissatisfaction with the finished film and blamed its mixed reception on changes Marvel Studios made during post-production, which he felt conflicted with his creative vision.
In 2015, he called working on ''The Dark World'' a "particularly wrenching" experience,
and said in 2021 that the experience made him hesitant to continue directing.
Taylor expressed interest in creating a
director's cut similar to ''
Zack Snyder's Justice League
''Zack Snyder's Justice League'' (colloquially referred to as the ''Snyder Cut'') is the 2021 director's cut of the 2017 American superhero film ''Justice League'', the fifth film set within the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), which is based ...
'' (2021), though he observed that Marvel was likely not interested in it.
Accolades
Sequels
''Thor: Ragnarok''
''Thor: Ragnarok'' was released on November 3, 2017,
directed by
Taika Waititi
Taika David Cohen (born 16 August 1975), known professionally as Taika Waititi ( ), is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor, and comedian. Known for quirky comedy films and expanding his career as a voice actor and producer on numerous projects, he ...
.
Eric Pearson and
Craig Kyle
Craig Paul Kyle (born November 3, 1971) is an American writer for Marvel Comics. He is best known for his creation of the character X-23. He has also produced several of Marvel's direct-to-DVD animated films and worked on several aspects of the ...
&
Christopher Yost
Christopher Lee Yost (; born February 21, 1973) is an American film, television, animation, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe with '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013) and '' Thor: Ragnarok'' ...
wrote the screenplay,
with Kevin Feige again producing.
Hemsworth, Hiddleston, Hopkins, Elba, Asano, Levi, and Stevenson reprise their roles as Thor, Loki, Odin, Heimdall, Hogun, Fandral, and Volstagg, respectively,
while
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor. He began acting in the late 1980s and first gained recognition for his work in Kenneth Lonergan's play ''This Is Our Youth'' (1996) and drama film ''You Can Count on Me'' (2000) ...
and
Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...
appear as
Bruce Banner / Hulk and
Doctor Strange
Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...
respectively, reprising their roles from previous MCU films.
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...
,
Tessa Thompson
Tessa Lynne Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. She began her professional acting career with the List of Theatre Communications Group member theatres, Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica ...
,
Jeff Goldblum
Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum ( ; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and ''Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels.
Goldblum ...
and
Karl Urban
Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June 1972) is a New Zealand actor. His career began with appearances in New Zealand films and television series such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. His first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film ''Ghost Ship''. ...
join the cast as
Hela
HeLa () is an immortalized cell line used in scientific research. It is the oldest human cell line and one of the most commonly used. HeLa cells are durable and prolific, allowing for extensive applications in scientific study. The line is ...
,
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...
,
Grandmaster, and
Skurge
The Executioner is the name of different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Skurge, an Asgardian, is originally depicted as a supervillain who wields a magic double-bladed battle axe. Skurge falls ...
, respectively.
''Thor: Love and Thunder''
A fourth film titled ''Thor: Love and Thunder'' was released on July 8, 2022.
Hemsworth, Thompson,
and Elba reprised their roles,
with Portman,
Alexander,
Dennings, and Skarsgård returning after not appearing in ''Ragnarok''.
Portman portrayed her character taking on the mantle of Thor, similar to the comics.
Additionally,
Chris Pratt
Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14.1billion worldwide, making him the fifth-highest-grossing film star of all time. Pratt was named by ''Time'' as one of t ...
,
Pom Klementieff
Pom Alexandra Klementieff (; born 3 May 1986) is a French actress. She is best known for playing Mantis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since 2017, and the assassin Paris in '' Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One'' (2023) and ...
,
Dave Bautista
David Michael Bautista Jr. (born January 18, 1969) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. Regarded as one of the most prolific professional wrestlers of his generation, he rose to fame for his multiple stints in WWE betwee ...
,
Karen Gillan
Karen Sheila Gillan (; born 28 November 1987) is a Scottish actress and filmmaker. She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the scien ...
,
Vin Diesel
Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and film producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for portraying Dominic "Dom" Toretto in the '' Fast & Furious'' fra ...
,
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and three Grammy Awards. In addition, he has been nominated for twelve Acade ...
, and
Sean Gunn
Sean Gunn (born May 22, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Kirk Gleason on The WB series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), and Kraglin Obfonteri in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In this role, he has been in the films '' ...
reprise their roles as
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Comic book teams 1969 team
The 1969 version of the Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), Guardians of the Galaxy were the origi ...
members
Peter Quill / Star-Lord,
Mantis
Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate a ...
,
Drax the Destroyer
Drax the Destroyer (Arthur Sampson Douglas) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in '' The Invincible Iron Man'' #55 (February 1973).
The character's or ...
,
Nebula
A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...
,
Groot
Groot () is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Tales to Astonish'' #13 (November 1960). An extraterrestrials in fiction, ex ...
,
Rocket
A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...
, and
Kraglin Obfonteri
Kraglin is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by plotter Stan Lee, writer Ernie Hart and artist Don Heck, he first appeared in ''Tales to Astonish'' #46 (August 1963). He is a member of the ...
.
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. List of awards and nominations received by C ...
joined the cast as the villain
Gorr the God Butcher
Gorr the God Butcher is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic, Gorr first appeared in '' Thor: God of Thunder'' #2 (January 2013).
Gorr the God Butcher has been desc ...
.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
2013 action adventure films
2010s American films
2010s English-language films
2010s fantasy action films
2010s fantasy adventure films
2010s superhero films
2013 3D films
American 3D films
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Asgard in fiction
Cultural depictions of Metropolitan Police officers
English-language science fantasy films
Fiction about regicide
Fictional-language films
Films about elves
Films about extraterrestrial life
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Films with screenplays by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Films with screenplays by Christopher Yost
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Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two films
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