My new favorite thing in the comments is when people accuse me of being “anti-DC Comics” and too “pro-Marvel.” Honestly, I couldn’t care less about either comics house. My general emotion/feeling is one of anxiety, actually. I have a feeling of anxiety for Hollywood, simply because I think studios are putting all of their eggs into the superhero-franchise basket, and that model simply cannot be sustainable long-term. At some point, people will lose interest. I think. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe we need ten more iterations of Batman’s origin story (oh, his parents were killed in front of him, how shocking). Maybe we need to see Tony Stark quip and punch his way through every obstacle ten more times.
I also take issue with both Marvel and DC for their historic lack of interest in even paying lip service to their female fans and their female characters. But after years of criticism, at least someone, somewhere has been trying to make some tweaks and changes to make their franchises a little bit better and female-friendly. Marvel has been praised for their “feminist neo-noir” Jessica Jones (a Netflix series) as well as their Agent Carter series. Marvel has also been making some interesting casting choices for their film franchises in the past year, like hiring Tilda Swinton and Rachel McAdams for Doctor Strange. And now this – Marvel is in talks with Cate Blanchett for a part in Thor: Ragnarok. A two-time Oscar winner starring alongside Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba and more? Huh.
Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett may soon be joining the Marvel universe. Sources tell Variety Blanchett is in talks to play one of the new female leads in Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok.” Marvel had no comment. Blanchett, having just received SAG and Golden Globe nominations for “Carol,” would be making her first major comic book role in “Ragnarok.”
Taika Waiti in on board to direct the third “Thor” film with Chris Hemsworth returning to play the Norse God. Stephany Folsom recently polished the script. Blanchett’s character in the superhero sequel isn’t known. “Ragnarok,” produced by Kevin Feige, will also feature Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk and the villainous Tom Hiddleston who plays Loki in “The Avengers” universe. “Thor: Ragnarok” hits theaters on Nov. 3, 2017.
Blanchett is no stranger to the fanboy universe, having appeared in multiple “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” films for Peter Jackson.
To me, Cate’s potential inclusion in the Thor franchise is very much like adding Tilda Swinton to the cast of Doctor Strange. Meaning, I think it’s a good play for everyone involved. Cate (like Tilda) has an other-worldly quality that enables her to play queens, aliens, goddesses, fairies and whatever else you want to throw at her. She’ll be able to fit into the Thor world pretty well, I’m assuming. Plus, this is a woman with three adolescent/tween sons, the core audience for many Marvel films. She probably wants to make a movie that her sons would and could see. I hope Cate gets scenes with Hiddles.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
I’m hoping she plays The Enchantress so she and Loki can scheme with each other and against each other. It would be delicious.
It’s between The Enchantress and Death herself, so if she signs, there will be definately action with Loki.
If she plays “death” I assume she would be playing Hela, queen of Hel. Would they follow the mythology (and the comics) and make her Loki’s daughter?
@Lilacflowers, who wrote: “I’m hoping she plays The Enchantress so she and Loki can scheme with each other and against each other. It would be delicious.”
I think it is a villainess role. I hope so, because does ‘bad’ so good. 🙂
Yeah, Loki needs a friend . . . or a frenemy.
I can’t really get in to her acting because her face looks like a really evil mask that doesn’t change expression.
The Thor movies are my least favorites of the Marvel “Collection” (despite Mr. Hiddleston and his lovely Loki) but if Cate Blanchett is in the next one I might have to revise my opinion upwards.
As far as Jessica Jones is concerned I don’t think I can get into a show where *SPOILER* some white woman kills a black woman and then stalks and gets with her husband but the show seems to be a win with white feminists so.
Um, hello? Did you miss the wole mind-control arc? As in, did you not see one episode of the show?
Oh yeah hi sis I know about the mind control and I knew about the purple man from the comics. Somehow doesn’t make a black woman getting murdered and replaced by a white woman romantically any less disgusting on top of the diversity issues that so many of these feminist shows have.
To be fair, the show doesn’t try to make it seem like what she did was OK. They’re very clear that sleeping with the husband of a woman she killed (even if it wasn’t her fault) was gross as hell. I think the show is a big hit with feminists because of the way it addresses rape and rape culture, plus the most important relationships in the show are between women, and all the female characters feel ‘real’. It’s not perfect, (like the only woman of color that I can recall was the one Jessica killed, and there were so many female roles that it’s rather inexcusable that they were all white) but it’s honestly very, very good.
I’m quietly crossing my fingers that Natalie Portman isn’t going to be around for this last sequel. Whatever I think of her individually, her character exhausted her usefulness in the first movie and had nothing to do other than be a McGuffin in the second. I’d rather the movie focus on some other great female character. If Cate plays her, all the better.
And take Darcy and Darcy’s intern too. But leave Stellan. Because Stellan. And Chris O’Dowd’s Richard.
I don’t like this. For whatever reason I never like her as anything but galadriel. Her acting has no humor to it. She is so dang serious all. The. Time. Hiddles made Loki so great because there’s an underlying humor and mischievous tone that I don’t see in Cates acting. I don’t think she’d “fit in” the marvel crowd during promotionals either. I vote no.
James Spader and Chris Eccleston and Corey Stoll and Robert Redford didn’t do much promotion for their MCU films. Anthony Hopkins has done practically none. They work around it
Check her out in Bandits. She’s funny and does a really loose, wild dance.
My favorite role of hers (and a great movie!)!
Let’s hope not. She’s a great actress and she’s already done her time with the LOTR. She deserves better. The last thing we need is to indulge studios to make even more films for 12-year-olds.