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‘Thor 3’ Will Likely Transform Hulk And Increase His Brainpower Before ‘Infinity War’

By Colin Fredericson
Published on: 10:17 PST, Feb 3, 2016

Thor 3 will take blooming best buds Thor and Hulk on a space adventure. Thor 3, officially titled Thor: Ragnarok, is going to sweeten the fortunes of Marvel’s least successful solo movie characters by teaming them up. Both characters have performed better in Marvel movies when alongside other Avengers. But Thor 3 director Taika Waititi has plans to thrust Hulk into a storyline that will carry him through both Avengers: Infinity War movies.

As usual, Marvel Studios has yet to reveal anything specific. According to HitFix, Waititi indicated that producers are still pondering how to empower Hulk in new ways. Interviews with Waititi point to a more intelligent Hulk. In comics, Hulk isn’t always the brute savage that beats anything that moves. He’s managed to calm down and maintain his intelligence while in Hulk form in some of his comics storylines. It would only be natural that some variation of that occur in movies, since a smarter Hulk can be a better good guy, and can work together in a more controlled manner with his Avengers teammates.

But Thor 3 producers wants to do more than just make a cool buddy movie, they want to make a really fun movie and lighten up the Thor movies with humor. That’s why Marvel Studios hired director Taika Waititi. Waititi has been responsible for a number of independent comedy hits made in his native New Zealand, including his most recent movie, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival just last month. Many of his films have a strong local flavor which might limit their appeal beyond New Zealand, but his vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows is likely the movie that caught Marvel’s attention.

If Thor: Ragnarok is going to have the sense of humor that a director like Waititi could possibly give it, then it makes sense for Hulk to start speaking and telling jokes in Hulk form, and not be limited to just physical humor. But with Hulk’s huge presence positively confirmed, some other residents of Asgard are unsure of their return. The Warriors Three, Thor’s Asgardian brethren, might not be present. At least Volstagg has confirmed that a return is questionable.

Ray Stevenson, the actor who played Volstagg in Thor’s previous two adventures, told Reel Film News his doubts.

“Until you [as the actor] sign the dotted line or know that it’s actually a reality, it’s up to the ‘powers that be’ to decide if your character is right for the story [of the new film]…At this point, I don’t know.”

A lot of information surrounding Thor 3 seems to indicate Marvel is incorporating elements of Planet Hulk, Hulk’s outer space comics romp, in which he was a gladiator on another planet. At the same time, Thanos has been waiting in space. In his last end credits appearance, he threatened to come over and handle things himself. If he is serious about doing that before Infinity War comes out, then Thor 3 would be an opportunity for Thanos to step out into the spotlight.

In any case, Marvel has a chance to make a really funny outer space adventure chase that could somewhat mimic the bold, space comedy success of Guardians of the Galaxy, while this time using well-known superheroes. Besides Hulk and Thanos, there’s been talk of powerful female Asgardians like Valkyrie and Hela appearing.

The only Marvel movie between Thor 3 and Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 is Black Panther. But Black Panther was stated to be an origin story, so it’s not yet known how it will connect into Infinity War. If the story consists of Black Panther recollecting his past while in the present, then it could safely follow Thor 3 without breaking MCU continuity.

Thor 3 will probably make Thor cool again, but not until November 3, 2017.

[Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]

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