Four years is a lifetime in the film industry.
Take the marketing campaign for Thor: The Dark World as an example. In 2013, Alan Taylor’s (Game of Thrones) comic book sequel was angled as a dark, gritty chapter in Asgardian lore, and the stormy posters and foreboding teasers were a reflection of that overly serious tone.
With Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel and director Taika Waititi have rustled up an entirely different take on the God of Thunder. Indeed, if the original Thor movie opened up a wacky, fantastical branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – a branch that was later extended by James Gunn and his Guardians – then Ragnarok and its out-there sensibilities have laid the groundwork for a rip-roaring space opera involving Chris Hemsworth’s Norse god, who is banished from Asgard by the unruly Hela (Cate Blanchett).
Stripped of Mjölnir and force to rise up through the ranks of Sakaar’s gladiator arena, which explains the surprise encounter with Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, it’s fair to say that Thor is in for quite the journey come November. And as the threequel’s due date inches ever closer, Empire Magazine has today unveiled two heroic covers for its latest issue – one for Thor; the other for Hulk. Nipping at the heels of Friday’s big reveal, which offered up our first peek at the outlet’s stunning subscribers cover, these Ragnarok covers will grace newsstands on Thursday, August 10th, and herald additional intel for Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Justice League, Ready Player One, Star Trek: Discovery, and much more.
It’s a post-mortem on San Diego Comic-Con, essentially, and if you happened to miss out on any of the major announcements from SDCC 2017, expect a fresh deluge of information to surface in the coming days. As for Ragnarok, Empire’s set report will likely feature some interesting story trinkets about the God of Thunder’s latest solo effort, so stay tuned for more.
On the heels of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming, Marvel will complete its hat-trick with the release of Thor: Ragnarok on November 3rd.