An extremely creative and hilarious Marvel cinematic Universe movie, Thor Ragnarok has a lot to offer in the name of entertainment. Here are a few hidden BTS facts about the movie you never knew.
Major Connections To The Land Down Under
Thor Ragnarok would not have been possible without the Australian continent and the neighboring islands. Many of the major actors the starred in the movie were from Australia. Cate Blanchett and Chris Hemsowrth are from Australia. Taika Watiti is from New Zealand. Watiti, Director of Thor Ragnarok, also hails from a proud Maori lineage. To top it off, the major shooting locations for Thor Ragnarok were from Gold Coast of Australia. That’s a lot of Down Under if you ask us. Many of the crew members for the movie were from Australia and New Zealand as well. The decision to source crew personnel locally was done to keep costs down.
Blessed With Good Luck
Taika Watiti, as we have mentioned earlier, hails from a long line of proud Maori warriors. He may be a man of the 21st Century but he still has a strong connection to the traditions and culture of the tribes that once populated the lands. Before the movie officially began, Taika Watiti hired a local tribal group to do a ceremonial dance. The dance was done by the tribe to summon rain and bring in good luck. In Thor Ragnarok’s case, it was the latter. The movie was enchanted with good luck and some might say it became one of the most successful Marvel Cinematic Universe movies of all time because it had help, a lot of help.
One Of The Few Movies That Were Given Music Rights To Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin is notorious when it comes to allowing movies and shows to use their songs. The Immigrant song we saw in the trailer and in the movie fit perfectly into the shot. But it did not come cheap. according to sources, the song’s rights cost Marvel Studios to shell out a seven figure compensation. Money itself is not a factor when it comes to using Led Zeppelin songs in movies though. Jack Black had to literally beg on camera for using their songs bin his movie School Of Rock. Marvel had to knock on a lot of doors for using The Immigrant Song. Was it all worth the effort? Absolutely!!!
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Major Inspiration From Big Trouble In Little China
Thor Ragnarok has taken inspiration from a lot of movies and shows. It has pop culture references to a variety of them within its run time. But there was one movie Thor Ragnarok drew heavily from. That was not mentioned until Taika Watiti openly admitted to it on record in front of the press. The movie Big Trouble In Little China, is a cult classic action comedy movie featuring Kurt Russell. Thor Ragnarok tried to emulate the atmosphere and tone of the movie. And from the looks of it, it did a pretty good job at nailing it.
The Movie Has A Line Originally Thought Up By A Make-A-Wish Kid
As part of its outreach program, marvel studios does its part to help people in need. The Make a Wish foundation has a very cordial relationship with Marvel Studios. They regularly entertain visits from the organization. One such kid was roaming through the sets of Thor Ragnarok when he came up with the line “He’s a friend from work.” That line was later used by Thor when he sees Hulk in the Grandmaster’s arena.
About 80 Per cent Of The Lines In the Movie Were Improvised
The movie’s entire run time had a plethora of funny dialogues. Thor Ragnarok is an exceptionally funny and creative movie, even by Marvel Cinematic Universe standards. And the reason for its element of humor is rather unconventional. Thor Ragnarok did not have a set dialog script. Most of the lines that the actors said in the movie were improvised by the actors themselves. What Taika Watiti did was explain the scene to the actors and told them to enact the scene without looking at the lines. This was true for many of the hilarious scenes in the movie. Jeff Goldblum, according to Chris Hemsworth, was really good at this.
The Movie Was A Tribute To Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby could be considered one of the founding fathers of Marvel Comics. The legendary artist was there when Marvel came up with its most epic story arcs during the early phases. Thor Ragnarok paid homage to Jack Kirby in a big way. Everyone from the computer animators to the set and costume designers came up with designs and elements that emulated Kirby’s artwork. The signature Kirby Krackle, a visual effect made famous by Kirby in his comic book artworks, was used in the very trailer itself.
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The Grandmaster’s Tower Is A Hidden Gem
The Grandmaster’s Tower in Sakaar is a reference to multiple Marvel characters. The centerpiece is a huge building with multiple faces sculpted onto its exterior. All the faces are actually Marvel Comic Book characters. There’s Fin Fang Foom, a villain created by Jack Kirby. Ares, Man Thing, Beta Ray Bill and even the Bi-Beast can be seen on the Grandmaster’s Tower. Even a lesser known Hulk villain called Dark Crawler shows up in one of the faces.
There’s A Reference To Point Break
After Thor tries to activate the Avengers Quinjet on Sakaar, it does not respond. That is until Thor utters the word “Point Break”. This is a reference to Tony Stark’s nick name for Thor when they first met in the first Avengers movie all the way back in 2012. Tony called Thor Point Break because he looked very similar to Patrick Swayze’s character in the movie of the same name. We all missed that reference except a few eagle eyed fans.
Jurassic Park’s Alan Grant was In Thor Ragnarok
If you look very closely, you might find a very familiar face from one of the most legendary Steven Spielberg movies. Sam Neill, who played Alan Grant, in Jurassic Park, plays the role of Odin in a play in the early phases of the movie. Neill is also from New Zealand just like Taika Watiti. Both of them had worked together on the movie Hunt For The Wilderpeople.
