Taika Waititi gave one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s more lackluster franchises a huge shot in the arm with Thor: Ragnarok, turning the usually stoic and solemn hero into one of the MCU’s funniest characters. The God of Thunder’s total reinvention gave Chris Hemsworth a new lease of life playing the title hero, and the new and improved Thor went on to become one of the franchise’s most vital and entertaining components.
While audiences were sold on the idea of Ragnarok as an intergalactic buddy movie, the third installment isn’t without its more dramatic moments. For instance, Anthony Hopkins seemed to be having the time of his life playing Loki disguised as Odin, but the King of Asgard also met his demise at the culmination of the first act after sharing an emotional moment with his two sons.
The scene that we saw in the theatrical cut plays out against a backdrop of tranquility, with Odin peacefully moving on to the afterlife before Hela can show up and kill him. However, a deleted scene from the Infinity Saga box set reveals how it was originally set to play out, with Odin meeting a much more violent and grisly end.
In the alternate version, in the immediate aftermath of their meeting with Doctor Strange in New York City, Thor and Loki find Odin homeless and wandering the streets of New York, rambling about the demise of Asgard, Ragnarok and Hela’s impending arrival. Sure enough, she shows up and stabs her father in the chest, before destroying Mjolnir as her siblings escape.
In the end, Waititi definitely made the right choice in giving Odin a more low-key death scene. Such a dark and violent moment would have been ill-at-ease with the more light-hearted and fun tone of Thor: Ragnarok, and would have made for a jarring interlude between some heavily-comedic scenes.
