‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Cate Blanchett Rocks As Hela And Here’s What She Has To Say About Being The Supervillain

The official Thor: Ragnarok trailer is out and it gave fans many reasons to be excited about the film. Besides Chris Hemsworth’s Thor’s new look and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner’s (a.k.a. Hulk) appearance in the movie, viewers got to see, for the first time, Cate Blanchett’s supervillain character, Hela, in action.

Cate Blanchett’s Hela in Thor: Ragnarok is a first from the Marvel Cinematic Universe since she is the first female villain in the superhero movie franchises. Although there have been other female villains in the world of Marvel, including Karen Gillan’s Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy, Cate Blanchett’s Hela in Thor: Ragnarok is the first major supervillain.

Marvel taking so long to have a female supervillain like Hela is described by the actress as ridiculous, saying that there is just “so much untapped potential villainy in women,” during a lengthy interview with Entertainment Weekly.

The Oscar-winning actress took on a role of the Goddess of Death, who can cold-heartedly kill both humans and gods. She was unleashed from prison by mistake and she raided Thor’s kingdom.

In the Thor: Ragnarok teaser trailer, Blanchett’s Hela is heard declaring, “Asgard is dead.” It also shows how strong and powerful she can be when she destroyed Thor’s beloved hammer, the Mjolnir. Cate also gave a little bit of description about her character.

“She arrives with a lot of baggage. She’s a little bit cross … She’s been locked away for millennia, getting more and more cross, and then, with a mistake, she get unleashed and she ain’t getting back in that box.”

Blanchett also teased about Hela’s gear in Thor: Ragnarok, revealing that the wicked goddess has a headdress that can also serve as weapons.

“She can manifest weapons out of different parts of her body. I won’t tell you which – I’ll leave that hanging.”

During the same interview, Blanchett also shared the reason why she decided to take on the role as Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. She said that there were not a lot of opportunities in MCU where the female gets to be the major villain.

In a 2016 interview with Moloive, the 47-year old Australian actress also explained that she had taken the role of Hela because she has not done much action films in the past. The role of the Goddess of Death is a big change for her and she expressed how she was excited to get in shape just for the role.

To be as compelling as the supervillain everyone saw in the latest Thor: Ragnarok trailer, Cate Blanchett worked with Zoe Bell, the legendary stuntwoman whose notable works include Xena: Warrior Princess and Kill Bill. Blanchett also had to learn capoeira, a Brazilian martial art that combines fighting, dancing, music and acrobatics just to prepare for her role.

In a March interview with Yahoo! Movies, Cate Blanchett also revealed why her team decided to give Hela the goth look. In the comics, Hela has had different incarnations but many remember her as someone with an intricate headdress. But for Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, Blanchett turned to online fans for some inspiration.

She even did research on cosplayers who would do makeup tutorials for Hela on YouTube. She then took the idea to Marvel so Hela can have that smoky look when she goes unmasked. This is to make the supervillain appear interesting, as opposed to having a generic baddie look.

Thor: Ragnarok is scheduled to hit theaters in November. Aside from Blanchett, Ruffalo, and Hemsworth, the film brings back Tom Hiddleston as Thor’s villainous brother, Loki, Anthony Hopkins playing their father and the Asgardian God, Odin, and Idris Elba as Asgardian sentry Heimdall. Jeff Goldblum also appears in the new movie as the Grandmaster.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]