This Marvel Universe is something fairly unique.
(GRUNTS)
It's never really been done before, this many films interconnected.
The events of Thor: Ragnarok take place around the same time as Civil War.
Be great if we had Hulk right about now.
So, while everything's going to hell on Earth,
everything's literally going to hell in space.
Hulk! Just for once in your life, don't smash.
Big monster!
It was very important to us to tap into the history of Marvel Comics.
I was a mad comic collector when I was young.
And this film is heavily influenced by that style.
WINDERBAUM: Two comic book runs that we looked at
were the early Jack and Stan stuff, Journey into Mystery stuff,
as well as the Walt Simonson run,
where he told the definitive Ragnarok story.
My idea of a storyline was a mixture of Norse mythology and Marvel mythology.
The story of Surtur and Ragnarok, the death of the gods.
It's not exactly the same story in our film,
but there are iconic aspects that we're embracing.
Surtur being key to the ultimate destruction of Asgard.
The brothers, Thor and Loki, having to work together in order to save the day,
despite their differences.
It's the only way.
These are all things that are really important to the Ragnarok story.
I am Asgard's doom!
You get so much information, so many storylines from the comics.
It's really fun for me to figure out which cool things to take.
Jack Kirby is arguably the most important comic book artist.
We are directly referencing a lot of his art which is very iconic.
Get him. Open a window.
FEIGE: All of the Thor films have always been inspired by his work,
but in this particular movie,
Taika had an idea to just really make it a tribute to Jack Kirby.
Listen, we're gonna go to Asgard...
and you're not gonna have to think about the Hulk ever again. All right?
All right.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Hulk! Hulk!
This film, to me, seems like the perfect environment in which to show his style.
His line, his color, everything.
It's almost as if we have finally stepped into a Jack Kirby drawing.
WAITITI: He's created so many incredible characters, and ships and costumes.
He really blazed the trail.
And it's about time that someone paid tribute to him in this way.
I mean, he really was the king.
Get up. You're in my seat.
It's incredible what the character of Hela means to the fans
and what her history with the comics has been.
I'm Hela.
I'm just a janitor.
You look like a smart boy.
There's an incredible, fantastic element to her power.
She was born with a rare gift
to create any number of deadly weapons at her whim.
ERIC PEARSON: There's a run of Thor called "God of Thunder,"
where there was a character named Gorr going around killing gods.
And it's a really fun comic to read.
And we used a lot of the visual aspect of Gorr's powers to infuse with Hela.
Want to see what true power really looks like?
(GROWLS)
We were able to tap into something from the comics which is very exciting,
which our storylines have taken Hulk to other sides of the universe.
MARK RUFFALO: Everybody wants Planet Hulk.
Planet Hulk is a legendary Marvel comic.
It's beloved by fans.
PEARSON: This was not going to be the Planet Hulk movie,
but we were using elements of it
where Hulk ends up on a very different-looking Sakaar
and is forced to be a gladiator.
We spun it and we've given a lot of that story to Thor
while also introducing Hulk in the same context.
(ROARS)
I really wanted to have Hulk with battle armor,
with the shoulder pads, and the spikes, and everything.
WINDERBAUM: Marvel's Contest of Champions
is something we're excited to bring to the screen for Marvel fans.
And one of the allies that Thor makes is this Kronan named Korg.
I really wish I had my hammer.
Sounds like you had a pretty special and intimate relationship with this hammer
and that losing it was almost comparable to losing a loved one.
WINDERBAUM: He was a character from the Planet Hulk storyline
and also poetically is of the first breed of aliens
that Thor had to fight in his first issue of Journey Into Mystery.
(ALL EXCLAIM)
Anyone else?
We kind of make this a fairly unique film of its own and story.
But Ragnarok has already begun.
As long as you stay true to the core of the characters,
then it's just a big playground.
For Asgard.
WAITITI: Just a chance to play around and be a bit mad
and make it feel a little bit more like a comic.
You can't defeat me.
But he can.
The fans are always front-of-mind for us.
Not just the fans of today, but also the fans from years ago.
These are characters that have been around for decades.
So, the excitement that someone had reading a new story for the first time
is the same excitement we hope they feel when they go to the movies
and see the latest interpretation of the character onscreen.