Back when Thor: Ragnarok was still an embryonic pitch fastened to one of many whiteboards populating Marvel Studios, writer-director Taika Waititi described his spectacular threequel as a buddy-cop movie involving Hulk and the God of Thunder, two Phase One Avengers that haven’t been glimpsed on screen since Age of Ultron – end-credits scenes notwithstanding.
That all changes in November thanks to the release of Ragnarok. Now ruling over Asgard and its gilded corridors of power, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki has finally achieved his twisted dream: to usurp the throne once occupied by Odin. But as we learned last week, it is Loki’s callous ways that leave the door open for the invading Hela, and judging by those magnificent trailers, Cate Blanchett’s Goddess of Death will bring Asgard to its knees in two months’ time.
And so, with that early November release date closing in fast, Marvel Studios is beginning to fire on all cylinders to drum up excitement for Thor: Ragnarok, with the latest promo arriving in the form of a brief Japanese TV spot. In it, you’ll find Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo’s heroes – now very much considered as Marvel’s new space buddies, true to Waititi’s original promise – addressing Japanese viewers in hilarious fashion.
The clip itself doesn’t contain any footage whatsoever, but perhaps more than anything, it’s another sneak peek at the natural chemistry flowing between Hemsworth and Ruffalo. Their on-screen characters have clashed before, so there’s no telling what surprises Waititi has in store once Thor crash lands on Sakaar.
“What were you the god of again?” Expect Chris Hemsworth’s Asgardian to embark on a journey of self-discovery when Thor: Ragnarok lights up theaters on November 3rd. It’s the second-to-last MCU movie before Avengers: Infinity War (May 4th, 2018), given that Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther spinoff has been pegged for a release on February 16th – or February 9th, if you happened to be situated in the United Kingdom.