‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Adapting ‘Planet Hulk’ After All, ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2’ Villain Revealed

Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, two Marvel Studios films that are being released in 2017, just became a whole lot more exciting with the news that’s been released this week. All that’s missing are the official confirmations from Marvel Studios.

Thor: Ragnarok To Reportedly Have Planet Hulk Element In It – https://t.co/c2ozQFKWPy pic.twitter.com/Lu93aR0y1y

— ComicBook NOW! (@ComicBookNOW) May 31, 2016

Mild spoilers for Avengers: Age of Ultron up ahead.

Thor: Ragnarok recently announced a number of actors who are going to appear in the film, including Tessa Thompson, Cate Blanchett, Karl Urban, and Jeff Goldblum. Ever since Mark Ruffalo was announced to be reprising his role as the Hulk in Ragnarok, many of speculated as to what kind of role Hulk will play in the film, with a healthy amount of comic fans clamouring for some kind of Planet Hulk adaptation — a story that involved the Illuminati sending Hulk away to a planet in which he conquers. At the end of Age of Ultron, Hulk is seen by himself in a small aircraft heading off into space, and apparently, this will play into where he ends up in Thor: Ragnarok.

According to JoBlo, Thor: Ragnarok will adapt Planet Hulk — at least somewhat — and will mesh elements of that story into the Ragnarok story. It looks like Hulk will indeed be on that planet he conquered, and Thor will somehow find himself on that planet, being challenged to a very intense gladiatorial tournament run by Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster. The site also confirms that Hulk will be wearing the same gladiator-style costume he wore while on the planet Sakaar in the comics.

Chris Hemsworth’s Thor will also have a different look during a certain portion of the film. Apparently he is going to have a shaved head, but not completely bald, during his time on the Hulk planet. Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie will be wearing war paint on her face during this portion of the film, as well. Thor will be looking for the ultimate weapon that can stop Ragnarok (basically the destruction of the universe), but the details on what the weapon is and how he goes about doing this are unknown at this time.

James Gunn is currently directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the sequel to 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, with Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel. It’s been rumored that Kurt Russell has already joined the cast, quite possibly as Pratt’s father, but that has yet to be officially confirmed. As for the villain in Vol. 2, some speculated whether or not it would be Ego, The Living Planet. Now, an anonymous source close to production claims that the villain in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is Ayesha, aka Her, aka Kismet, aka Paragon. If this is true, it would be the second major female villain for a Marvel Studios film, along with Cate Blanchett as Hela in Thor: Ragnarok.

Female Villain Rumored For @Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.2, Plus #Ragnarok Details https://t.co/ULxmTo1Qr0 pic.twitter.com/x0zEkgZpCJ

— MCU Exchange (@MCUExchange) May 31, 2016

Elizabeth Debicki (The Night Manager, Man From U.N.C.L.E.) is set to appear in the film, and JoBlo speculates that Debicki will be playing Ayesha and sees her as quite a good fit for the role. Ayesha was created by a group of Earth-based scientists who were looking to create the perfect genetic beings to help them take over the world. Their first creation, Adam Warlock — who could also appear in somewhere in the Marvel Cinematic Universe very soon — escaped.

Along with that, there is some additional Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 casting news that includes Tommy Flanagan as Tullk, and Chris Sullivan as Taserface, who appeared in the original Guardians of the Galaxy comics. JoBlo also claims that the Guardians crew will be showing up in the Avengers: Infinity War films to work alongside the Avengers.

Thor: Ragnarok will hit theaters on November 3, 2017, while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will hit theaters on May 5, 2017.

[Image via Marvel Studios, Marvel Comics]