Image: Marvel
What could possibly be better than Cate Blanchett as Hela, the goddess of death? Laura Dern playing Cate Blanchett playing Hela, of course.
One of the funniest scenes in the altogether-hilarious Thor: Ragnarok had to be when actors Luke Hemsworth, Matt Damon, and Sam Neill filled in as the famous, and famously dysfunctional, Asgardian family of Thor, Loki, and Odin, performing a Game of Thrones-esque stage play commissioned by Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in disguise as his father. It was a great way to catch audiences up on just enough of Thor: The Dark World for the new film to make sense, while helping us forget how forgettable The Dark World actually was.
When Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi was asked whether it would have been cool or even possible to bring Star Wars: The Last Jedi‘s Dern into the film, reuniting her with Jurassic Park co-stars Neill and Jeff Goldblum, he actually came up with an idea on how to incorporate her into the next Thor film with those same actors. You see, the film would need a way to condense the main events of Ragnarok, and what better way than to put our actor heroes back on the stage?
“It would be awesome if we somehow got Laura Dern in there, as well. Thor 4, exactly. All of them go back and do the play again. It’s a new play about Asgard’s destruction. That might be a great way to start that film,” Waititi said.
Can you imagine: Dern as Blanchett’s Hela, strutting across the stage with a gorgeous helmet made of antlers and death. You could bring in the other Hemsworth brother, Hunger Games‘ Liam Hemsworth, to play the part of one-eyed Thor. Neill could reprise his role as Odin, Zendaya could come in as Valkyrie (confusing audiences as an unofficial Spider-Man crossover). Hulk could be played by Lou Ferrigno or, if a moment of bleak self-awareness, Edward Norton. And, while Damon was excellent as our loveable trickster, who better to come in as the new Loki than Goldblum himself? I mean, the Grandmaster’s going to need something to do after that whole rebellion thing.
Granted, the likelihood of us getting a fourth movie in Hemsworth’s Thor franchise seems near-impossible, given how Hemsworth said his Marvel contract is up after the third and fourth Avengers movies. And that three is, in general, where the standalone movies seem to be ending. However, if Hemsworth chooses to stick around, or Marvel decides to give someone else the power of thunder, it looks like Waititi’s already got an idea of how to keep the ball rolling in style.