Doctor Strange Confirmed For ‘Thor: Ragnarok’
The mid-credits scene for Doctor Strange suggested that the Sorcerer Supreme would be popping up in Thor: Ragnarok at some point. Chris Hemsworth’s Nordic God was seen in the blockbuster sharing a drink with Benedict Cumberbatch’s superhero, as Doctor Strange agreed to help Thor, who has brought his brother Loki to Earth to search for their father Odin.
This immediately led moviegoers to assume that this scene was either a precursor or a scene from Thor: Ragnarok. Now the official Disney fan club D23, via Cinema Blend, have confirmed that Doctor Strange and Thor will be crossing paths in Ragnarok. In a preview of the 2017 movie slate the website wrote,
“If you need even more intergalactic, world-saving action, Thor: Ragnarok in November brings together Thor, the Hulk, and Doctor Strange to face off against intergalactic baddies both familiar and new.”
The addition of Doctor Strange to Thor: Ragnarok is just the latest of many reasons why excitement for the film is so high.
First of all, Marvel Studios made the decision to hire Taika Waititi to oversee the film, having been vastly impressed by his work on the likes of Hunt For The Wilderpeople and What We Do In The Shadows, which over the last two years have received critical acclaim.
The addition of Taiki Waititi and the director’s vision for Ragnarok has seen its ensemble impressively swell, too. The main core of its cast will return, with Chris Hemsworth portraying Thor, Tom Hiddleston playing his troublesome step-brother Loki, Idris Elba starring as Heimdall, and Anthony Hopkins popping up as Odin.
But Tessa Thompson is now on board to play Valkyrie, while Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, and Sam Neill will be joining in the fun, too. All of which means that Thor: Ragnarok probably has the best cast of 2017.
But it’s the decision to put Thor, the Hulk, and now Doctor Strange in the same film that has Marvel fans the most excited. It’s yet to be confirmed just how big Doctor Strange’s role in Thor: Ragnarok will actually be. It’s most likely that the scene we saw at the end of Doctor Strange will have been sliced out of Thor: Ragnarok, and that Strange will appear for a couple of scenes. This is what happened at the end of Ant-Man. In the 2015 blockbuster, Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Captain America (Chris Evans) were shown with the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) in custody, but weren’t able to contact Iron Man because of the accords. The Falcon then told Captain America that he would call Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) for assistance instead.
But while the cast for Thor: Ragnarok is undeniably impressive, there is one omission that’s a little bit depressing. That’s because Oscar winner Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Jackie) won’t be returning as Jane Porter in the film, having previously appeared in both Thor and Thor: The Dark World.
Clearly there hasn’t been much communication between Natalie Portman and Marvel Studios over the last few years. But that doesn’t mean that Portman’s time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has completely come to an end. In fact, earlier this week Natalie Portman admitted to Deadline that she will hopefully return to the series. When quizzed about her future in the MCU, Natalie Portman responded, “Yeah well hopefully one day I figure it out!”
But before we get to experience Thor: Ragnarok on November 3, we actually have two more Marvel blockbusters to enjoy. That’s because Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 will precede it on May 5, while 2017 will mark the first occasion when we’ll have three Marvel films in the space of a year, because Spider-Man: Homecoming will see Peter Parker get his first solo outing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe on July 7, too. Which means that Ragnarok will have quite a lot to live up to when it finally arrives in just less than 10 months’ time.
[Featured Image by Marvel Studios]
