Thor Odinson: God of Thunder Appreciation 2020

[Panic]

I hope Sif gets her due here and doesn't get the Warriors Three + Heimdall treatment.

Like, I don't really expect Thor and Jane to get back together so let Sif win Thor.

Sif will probably fall in love with Jane.

[Astral Disaster]

I hope Sif gets her due here and doesn't get the Warriors Three + Heimdall treatment.

Like, I don't really expect Thor and Jane to get back together so let Sif win Thor.

Sif will probably fall in love with Jane.

Wait, didn't she already promise to be Vallkyrie's queen?

[charliehustle415]

I've given up expecting any kind of consistency in the Thor movies.

It's really weird how Thor and Hulk are the two heroes who in the MCU vary so wildly, but I feel like ever since Ragnarok this is the characterization that they'll stick with

[GodThor]

where is Odin???

last time I saw him was during the final chapter of Aaron's run.

[Frontier]

Sif will probably fall in love with Jane.

I wish this wasn't possible as it actually is .

It's really weird how Thor and Hulk are the two heroes who in the MCU vary so wildly, but I feel like ever since Ragnarok this is the characterization that they'll stick with

Even then his characterization varies widely depending on the movie and scene he's in. Just feels like there is very little consistency in their take on Thor, but I guess that's by design.

where is Odin???

last time I saw him was during the final chapter of Aaron's run.

I don't know if I really want to see Cates write Odin. Or at least modern Odin.

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

I wonder how Waititi is gonna Butcher the God Butcher.

He's either going to be a screaming goth tinged stick in the mud like MCU Ronan or a dull goth tinged generic doomsday villain like Malekith.

[GodThor]

I don't know if I really want to see Cates write Odin. Or at least modern Odin.

LOL true.

unpopular opinion, Odin should have stayed dead.

[Frontier]

I wonder how Waititi is gonna Butcher the God Butcher.

He's either going to be a screaming goth tinged stick in the mud like MCU Ronan or a dull goth tinged generic doomsday villain like Malekith.

I expect we'll get a lot of dark humor and quipping.

LOL true.

unpopular opinion, Odin should have stayed dead.

Considering how he's been used in the past era? Yeah.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I wonder how Waititi is gonna Butcher the God Butcher.

He's either going to be a screaming goth tinged stick in the mud like MCU Ronan or a dull goth tinged generic doomsday villain like Malekith.

Christian Bale, and Christian Bale's agent, would never have agreed to this movie and role if there was nothing in the part that allowed the actor to sink himself in.

This isn't Christopher Ecclestone who you can cast as Malekith and the actor's reps are toothless to protect his dignity, and so he gets taken out by a bunch of human interns with tripods (thank you HISHE).

When you cast a big name actor in such a role, their reps and so on, would insist or haggle over how the character is written and portrayed. That doesn't necessarily mean they dictate changes in the story (i.e. Thor dies and loses and the villain is suddenly the true hero at the end) but they would insist that the character they portray be shown as powerful, capable, and with a certain dignity.

Cate Blanchett in Thor Ragnarok was allowed to consistently score on-screen wins and points against Chris Hemsworth (Thor never wins a single on-screen fight against Hela), her character gets a win with the whole "Where did you think this gold came from" moment. None of that changes the fact that Hela loses in the end to Surtur and so on. But the entire dynamic and framing of the character is beffiting to the stature and dignity of the star performer.

So the fact that an actor like Christian Bale is playing Gorr the God Butcher means that Gorr is in somewhat safe hands of Christian Bale's agents.

Money is important, but power is even moreso. And in movies, star power, the ability to draw audience attention and interest, to be seen as charismatic is important to maintain star power status.

[Frontier]

Man, poor Ecclestone. These genre films haven't done him justice (either as Destro or Malekith).

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

LOL true.

unpopular opinion, Odin should have stayed dead.

I agree. His sacrifice against Surtur in Jurgens run was epic and moving. Matt Fraction then brought him back just to assasinate the character.

[CaptainMar-Vell92 of the Kree]

Christian Bale, and Christian Bale's agent, would never have agreed to this movie and role if there was nothing in the part that allowed the actor to sink himself in.

This isn't Christopher Ecclestone who you can cast as Malekith and the actor's reps are toothless to protect his dignity, and so he gets taken out by a bunch of human interns with tripods (thank you HISHE).

When you cast a big name actor in such a role, their reps and so on, would insist or haggle over how the character is written and portrayed. That doesn't necessarily mean they dictate changes in the story (i.e. Thor dies and loses and the villain is suddenly the true hero at the end) but they would insist that the character they portray be shown as powerful, capable, and with a certain dignity.

Cate Blanchett in Thor Ragnarok was allowed to consistently score on-screen wins and points against Chris Hemsworth (Thor never wins a single on-screen fight against Hela), her character gets a win with the whole "Where did you think this gold came from" moment. None of that changes the fact that Hela loses in the end to Surtur and so on. But the entire dynamic and framing of the character is beffiting to the stature and dignity of the star performer.

So the fact that an actor like Christian Bale is playing Gorr the God Butcher means that Gorr is in somewhat safe hands of Christian Bale's agents.

Money is important, but power is even moreso. And in movies, star power, the ability to draw audience attention and interest, to be seen as charismatic is important to maintain star power status.

I'm still bitter about them using Aaron's run.

Milions of people if not bilions will see Jane as the best ''Thor'' ever and the real Thor just a slapstick stooge.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Man, poor Ecclestone. These genre films haven't done him justice (either as Destro or Malekith).

Most any great director will tell you that movies come down to casting. And in terms of characters and how they are portrayed, it comes down to that.

I read something about Fight Club the other day. In the novel, Tyler Durden is a more pathetic and creepy character but David Fincher altered the character when he cast Brad Pitt because according to him, Tyler's anti-consumerist ideas and beliefs would be more appealing and plausible if a big movie star like Brad Pitt voiced that. When Quentin Tarantino wrote Django Unchained, he pitched it to Will Smith but Will Smith turned it down because he didn't like the fact that Django didn't get to be the one who killed Leo DiCaprio's character. Will admitted that he told Tarantino, instead he admitted "No Quentin, please I need to kill the bad guy." Ultimately, the role went to Jamie Foxx, a good actor but not Will Smith or Denzel-level in terms of star power (both Will Smith and Denzel get to kill white bad guys in their movies).

The MCU have raised the quality level of their villains recently and the way it's been done is that they cast quality actors in those roles. So for instance in the Spider-Man MCU movies, Peter doesn't come off as impressive against Michael Keaton's Vulture or Gylenhaal's Mysterio and both actors have their motivations written so that they are anti-IM and against Spider-Man as his proxy...and both of them leave the movie with more dignity and outright winning scores. The reason is Tom Holland by himself is not as big an actor as those two. Whereas when Sam Raimi made Spider-Man 1 and 2, Tobey Maguire (a young up-and-coming actor in independent films) was about equal to Willem Dafoe (an actor in cult movies who had fallen by the wayside) and Alfred Molina (another character actor), so Spider-Man could be shown as an equal match.

In Thor, Hemsworth and Hiddleston were about equal in stature in the first movie -- hot young actors just starting out. For the second one, Ecclestone just didn't measure up in star status to Hiddleston and Hemsworth post-Avengers 2012. For the third one, they got Cate Blanchett and for Hemsworth and Waititi (who's an Australian and New Zealander) that's a huge huge deal since Blanchett is a national treasure in that part of the world, so Hela got treated with dignity and respect.

If all this sounds high school and cliquish...well that's because it is.

[Frontier]

Most any great director will tell you that movies come down to casting. And in terms of characters and how they are portrayed, it comes down to that.

I read something about Fight Club the other day. In the novel, Tyler Durden is a more pathetic and creepy character but David Fincher altered the character when he cast Brad Pitt because according to him, Tyler's anti-consumerist ideas and beliefs would be more appealing and plausible if a big movie star like Brad Pitt voiced that. When Quentin Tarantino wrote Django Unchained, he pitched it to Will Smith but Will Smith turned it down because he didn't like the fact that Django didn't get to be the one who killed Leo DiCaprio's character. Will admitted that he told Tarantino, instead he admitted "No Quentin, please I need to kill the bad guy." Ultimately, the role went to Jamie Foxx, a good actor but not Will Smith or Denzel-level in terms of star power (both Will Smith and Denzel get to kill white bad guys in their movies).

The MCU have raised the quality level of their villains recently and the way it's been done is that they cast quality actors in those roles. So for instance in the Spider-Man MCU movies, Peter doesn't come off as impressive against Michael Keaton's Vulture or Gylenhaal's Mysterio and both actors have their motivations written so that they are anti-IM and against Spider-Man as his proxy...and both of them leave the movie with more dignity and outright winning scores. The reason is Tom Holland by himself is not as big an actor as those two. Whereas when Sam Raimi made Spider-Man 1 and 2, Tobey Maguire (a young up-and-coming actor in independent films) was about equal to Willem Dafoe (an actor in cult movies who had fallen by the wayside) and Alfred Molina (another character actor), so Spider-Man could be shown as an equal match.

In Thor, Hemsworth and Hiddleston were about equal in stature in the first movie -- hot young actors just starting out. For the second one, Ecclestone just didn't measure up in star status to Hiddleston and Hemsworth post-Avengers 2012. For the third one, they got Cate Blanchett and for Hemsworth and Waititi (who's an Australian and New Zealander) that's a huge huge deal since Blanchett is a national treasure in that part of the world, so Hela got treated with dignity and respect.

If all this sounds high school and cliquish...well that's because it is.

I thought Hela was a tad undercooked but it was obvious Blanchett was actually enjoying herself, so that probably helped.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

I thought Hela was a tad undercooked but it was obvious Blanchett was actually enjoying herself, so that probably helped.

Obviously, execution is another thing, but casting Cate Blanchett did affect presentation, and on-screen treatment of character nonetheless.

You can cast the big obvious star part and it might not work in the end for all sorts of reasons. On paper casting Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze was a slam dunk, in actual practise it didn't work out for the movie or for Arnie all that well.

Gorr the God Butcher in the final film won't probably be 100% the way he came across in the comics. And it might not be what we all expect or hope, but with Christian Bale in the role, there will be substance to the role and character in some form, otherwise Bale would never have agreed to that part.

This isn't like saying Bale is going to approach Gorr like he's going for the Oscars, he'll play the part as written and as per the genre demands, but he will use Gorr as a chance to come across as an all-around cool badass because that's who he is.

I'm still bitter about them using Aaron's run.

Yes, they are using the most respected and talked about run on The Mighty Thor since Walt Simonson, what a shocker, totally never saw it coming.

Milions of people if not bilions will see Jane as the best ''Thor'' ever and the real Thor just a slapstick stooge.

Thanks to the MCU Thor is bigger than he ever was since the conversion of the last Viking to Christianity.

And compared to the myths, Thor who crossdresses as a woman to get back Sif's hair, whose wife ends up shtupping Loki anyway...the MCU is still more dignified.