How Thor's Ragnarok Transformation Changed The Entire MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe might look very different had the God of Thunder not been put through the wringer. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely explained that they had to change their plans due to the radical reinvention of Thor in director Taika Waititi's ​Thor: Ragnarok.​

Fans of the MCU know very well that Waititi essentially rehabilitated the character of Thor after his somewhat lackluster portrayal in the series prior to Ragnarok. While there were always humorous undertones to the God of Thunder, Waititi tapped into star Chris Hemsworth's comedic chops to give us a Thor who was just as quippy as his fellow Avengers.


The hero's newly comedic personality felt very different to his rather dour demeanor in other MCU films, which meant that early drafts of Infinity War needed to be adjusted to accommodate it.

According to Markus and McFeely, they actually had to fly in Hemsworth and Waititi to make sure that the Odinson's characterization made sense going from Thor: Ragnarok to Avengers: Infinity War.

But Waititi didn't just tweak the Thunder God's characterization - he put the poor guy through the kind of narrative gauntlet that few Marvel characters have had to endure, forcing him to experience more loss in a single film than he ever had before. Markus and McFeely saw in this an opportunity to portray Thor in a novel, almost shocking way.

In Avengers: Infinity War, the Thunder God is obviously still hurting from the events of Ragnarok, and in that film's opening, he's forced to witness the murder of his adopted brother Loki, as well as his friend Heimdall at the hands of Thanos. During a later conversation with Rocket, Thor seems withdrawn, unsure of himself, insecure, even depressed. That continues to the end of the film, in which Thor makes a crucial error, failing to immediately kill Thanos, allowing the Mad Titan to snap away half of all life in the universe. Keep watching the video to see how Thor's Ragnarok transformation changed the entire MCU!

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