When you watch the Marvel movies in order, there may be no more significant shift in tone than the one we see for Thor in Thor: Ragnarok. The film was a significant departure for both Thor as a character and the Marvel Cinematic Universe more generally. Taika Waititi brought a fresh energy and humor to the franchise that, while many think he overdid it in Thor: Love and Thunder, is just perfect in Ragnarok, and hearing Cate Blanchett talk, that movie was an absolute joy to make.
Cate Blanchett recently spoke with GQ about some of her biggest film roles, among them, the role of Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. Most would likely agree that she is fantastic in the role, and one of the best MCU villains to date. Blanchett says she learned a great deal on the set, which she still uses today about how to act in front of massive green screens. She also learned how to throw hammers from Chris Hemsworth. Blanchett explained…
It felt like there was a really playful, exciting energy. Fresh winds were moving through. It was great. I learned so much. Literally, which I’m still doing on Borderlands not to go ‘pew pew’ when you’re shooting the guns. You gotta throw a lot of stuff, whatever your bits are gonna be, CGI’d, from your hand. [I got] hammer throwing lessons from Chris about how I could actually make it like it’s a line, you had to have energy through your arm.
Blanchett does say the quiet part out loud, that Marvel movies often start filming without a complete script, and that the pieces get put together as the movie is happening. This isn’t exactly a secret, but it’s not something that is often discussed. Still, it sounds like Blanchett enjoyed working on the “jigsaw puzzle” and was proud to be the first major female villain in the MCU, something she didn’t even realize was the case until later. She continued…
It’s a whole big massive jigsaw puzzle [making a Marvel movie]. What I didn’t realize then was it was the first time a female villain had been realized onscreen, so that was really exciting. But I knew Taika was going to put his own particular spin on it and that Chris was so up for anything, incredibly generous and funny and ready to kind of move this in another direction.
While the end of Thor: Ragnarok certainly made a return for Hela seem unlikely, with the Multiverse still a thing in the MCU, despite the transition away from Kang and toward Doctor Doom, a return for Cate Blancett is far from impossible. Until then, we’ll have to make do with the actress appearing with Thor and Loki at Disneyland only.
