Ragnarok is coming. Prepare for an epic showdown of Team Thor vs Hela the Goddess of Death.

Thor, The God of Thunder returns for his third solo movie adventure! This time, the Avenger needs to stop the impending destruction of  his home world Asgard from Hela, the Goddess of Death. His journey takes time to the planet Sakaar and being put to fight in gladiatorial matches. There he finds unexpected allies to team-up in a race to save Asgard.

Official Synopsis:
“In Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok, Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok – the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization – at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela. But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger – the Incredible Hulk!”

Thor: Ragnarok is directed by New Zealander Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople). Reprising their roles are Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers) as Bruce Banner/Hulk, Tom Hiddleston (Thor) as Loki, Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) as Heimdall, Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs) as Odin, Tessa Thompson (Veronica Mars) as Valkyrie, Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) as Grandmaster, Karl Urban (Star Trek) as Skurge, and Cate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings) as the lead antagonist, Hela. 

Listen to what the Director and Cast have to say about Thor Ragnarok

What is Ragnarok?

In Norse mythology, Ragnarok was a great battle resulting in deaths of many gods like Odin, Loki, Heimdall, etc and the end of all things. From the movie trailers it can be hypothesized that Hela in her revenge against Asgard will bring about Ragnarok in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Ragnarok, the evil robotic clone of Thor.

In Marvel Comics, Ragnarok was a robotic clone of Thor, created by Tony Stark / Iron Man, Hank Pym  Giant-Man and Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic when Thor was presumed dead during the Civil War storyline. Ragnarok went out of control and later destroyed by the real Thor upon return (no superhero stays truly dead in comics). Ragnarok was later rebuild and was used by Norman Osborn / Green Goblin for his Dark Avengers team.

Here are the returning and new characters for in this new movie:

Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the titular god of Thunder. It is no secret from the trailer that he looses the mighty hammer Mjolnir at the literal hand of Hela, and gets a haircuit (do you ladies approve?).

Hulk / Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) was last seen in the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron leaving the team for parts unknown. Now the trailers has revealed that Hulk is also on the planet Saakar, fighting as a gladiator.

Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the God of Mischief and Thor's adopted brother (he's actually a small Frost Giant). He faked his own death after the events of Thor: The Dark World and disguised himself as Odin to rule Asgard.

Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) is a former Asgardian warrior who was once a member of Odin's elite guard. She is now working as a bounty hunter for the Grandmaster in Saakar. It is uncertain whether this movie Valkyrie is the same as the comics version, Brunhilde. She could be ONE of the many Valkyrie warriors.

Heimdall (Idris Elba), the all-seeing and all-hearing Gatekeeper of the Bifrost Bridge of Asgard.

Odin (Anthony Hopkins), king of Asgard. He was last seen in Thor: The Dark World and but viewers were unsure his fate since being "replaced" by Loki.

Hela (Cate Blanchett), the Goddess of Death. She escapes from imprisonment by Odin and now seeks revenge against Asgard. Writhing horns never looked so good!

Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) is one of the Elders of the Universe and master for all games. He created the Gladiator matches on Planet  Planet Saakar.

Skurge (Karl Urban), an Asgardian warrior who aligns himself to Hela. He is also known as 'The Executioner".

Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is now a full-fledged wizard, last seen in his own movie (in after credits) chatting with Thor to help search for Odin.

Get this bromance between Thor & Loki in "Get Help". LOL!

And listen in carefully to those great music tunes in this movie which looks to share the awesome mix vibes in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Thor Ragnarok is currently rated highly on Rotten Tomatoes at 98% and looks to be best of the trilogy. Read what movie critics have to say on Variety. And here's what Australia's ABC had to say about "the funniest Marvel movie ever".

Our resident Vulcan Dr. Mr. Smock reviews Thor Ragnarok together with special Guest The Captain from Pop Culture FUN - Malaysia.

As one of the most highly anticipated blockbuster superhero movies this year, our local cinemas are offering a whole slew of goodies right now:

GSC Cinemas is hosting an early screening for their members on this Wednesday  25 October, 6.20pm at GSC MyTown, Cheras and GSC Queensbay Mall, Penang. The screening package priced at RM30 includes 1 movie ticket, 1 limited edition Thor Ragnarok collectible coin and popcorn / drink combo. Find out more details from their official website. 

  

Now only for advance ticket sales purchase until 26 October, purchase their Thor Ragnarok e-combo online for RM90 to score a pair of Thor and Hulk Podz figurines with a large popcorn and 2 regular soft drinks. Read more on the terms and conditions from the GSC website.

Sample of that Hulk Podz figurine. Photo source: GSC.

Finally the first 50 customers purchasing six D-Box tickets at participating cinemas will redeem an exclusive Gladiator Hulk's Hammer USB plus popcorn and drinks for that party of six. Find out which cinemas are qualified for this prom at their website.

Over at TGV Cinemas, their Movie Club members get to purchase an early exclusive screening of Thor Ragnarok on Wednesday 25 October, 6pm in TGV Sunway Pyramid and Tebrau City, Johor Bahru. These IMAX tickets are priced at RM45 when purchased in advance, or RM60 on the day itself. Some activities like cosplay contest and video games precede the movie screening starting from 4.30pm. For non-members, there are other early screenings in IMAX and standard halls that same night at TGV 1 Utama and Sunway Velocity scheduled for 7pm with activities starting at 5.30pm.

Over the movie opening weekend of 28-29 October, movie marathons comprising Thor The Dark World and Thor Ragnarok will be available for purchase at selected locations.for only RM20 to Movie Club members and RM25 to others. Find out participating cinemas from the TGV website.

Plus from 25 October onwards, purchasing 2 IMAX movie tickets will come with a free mini-poster. Of course only at IMAX cinema locations.

As for movie merchandise, a Hulk Hammer combo is available for RM27 with purchase of 1 Thor Ragnarok movie ticket. This combo includes with a Hulk Hammer water bottle, 1 regular popcorn and 1 regular soft drink. The special bottle is also available at part of an IMAX ticket combo with popcorn for RM40.

MBO Cinemas is offering 3 forms of concession combos:

• Combo A with a 32oz / 950ml Thor OR Hulk helmet cup and a 46oz / 1.35l popcorn for RM27.
• Combo B, an 85oz / 2.5l Hulk Fist popcorn container with a 22oz / 650ml soft drink for RM41 or with 2 soft drinks will be RM43.
• Combo C comes with an 85oz / 2.5l Thor Helmet popcorn container with a 22oz / 650ml soft drink for RM41 or with 2 soft drinks for RM43.

They are also having a contest to win a trip for two to Australia. For more info, read here.

Unexpectedly, retail petrol stations chain Petron Malaysia is also in on the action with exclusive movie premiums available with minimum purchase of RM50 fuel. Then use either Petron points or cash to make purchase of the goodies from participating Petron station. For more details go to their official website.

Avenue K shopping centre is currently having an official Thor: Ragnarok event from 18 October to 5 November. You can take pictures with life-sized statues of Thor and Hulk in their Gladiator armor.

The event area in Avenue K's main concourse, just above the KLCC LRT station.

Life-sized statues of Thor and Hulk

There is also a FREE haircut for fans which the hairstylists will cut your hair short and also give a 'Gladiator Mark' on it (courtesy by C. Michael London hair salon).

Free haircut with the Gladiator Mark. Wonder if Chris Hemsworth approves?

For children, there is a mini 'Gladiator Pit' where they can battle it out like Thor and Hulk. Don't worry, protection are provided.

Gladiator Pit for the kids. Protection provided

There is also a Augmented Reality photo booth where you can take pictures with some of the characters from the movie.

Take pictures with your favorite movie character with the Augmented Reality Photo Booth

Premium Thor and Hulk statues on display

For retail, TGV Cinemas is selling their Hulk Hammer bottle by instead at a discounted price of RM17. Petron has also setup a booth offering their movie merchandise.

For fans who must own a piece of the Marvel Thor universe, here are a number of movie toys and collectibles located by the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.):

Hasbro's Marvel Legends series released six 6 inch figures which include Gladiator Thor, Loki, Hela, Thor (Jane Foster), Ares and Thor Odinson from the comics series. Each of the packaging comes with a body part which are called Build-A-Figure and if you collected all 6 figures, you are able to build your very own Gladiator Hulk! Each figure is priced at RM139.90.

Collect parts from each Marvel Legends figure to form Gladiator Hulk.

For Lego fans there are 2 building sets for this movie being released: Thor Vs Hulk Arena Clash 76088 for RM299.00 and The Ultimate Battle for Asgard 76084 for RM249.00.

Set 76088 Thor Vs Hulk: Arena Clash (RM299)

Set 76084 The Ultimate Battle for Asgard (RM249)

Funko POP  has been on a total rampage creating bobblehead figurines of every pop culture franchise our there, and Thor Ragnarok is not exception. New versions of Gladiator Thor and Loki plus other characters from the movie are priced at RM65.00 each. As per typical Funko POP distribution, some of these figures may be retail or event exclusives and not available from normal toy stores. Try to contact local Funko distributor Sheldonet Toy Store Malaysia for latest availability locally.

Various Funko POP Thor: Ragnarok figures

As with all Marvel movies, Hot Toys will be releasing some really detailed one-sixth scaled figurines for this movie comprising of Gladiator Thor, Gladiator Hulk, Loki, Hela and Valkyrie. No details yet on the price and release date.

Gladiator Thor and Hulk

Loki

Valkyrie

Hela

Thor and Hulk having a bonding session. By the way, Hulk now speaks with intelligent conversation!

Thor: Ragnarok will be opening in cinemas nationwide on Thursday 26 October 2017 with sneak previews starting Wednesday 25 October 2017.

Disclaimer: Thor, Hulk and associated trademarks are copyright to Marvel Studios, referenced here for fan service purposes only without intent to infringe.

Journeying to The Dark World this Oc-THOR-ber!

This month of Oc-THOR-ber, the mighty THOR returns to cinemas to battle ancient evil from The Dark World. In the aftermath of Marvel's "Thor" and "Marvel's The Avengers," Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos...but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Alan Taylor takes over the director's chair for Thor: The Dark World with most of the cast returning from the 2011 origin movie.

Chris Hemsworth stars in his third outing as Thor, reuniting with co-star Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, who is not happy that the God of Thunder did not drop in to see her during formation of the Avengers at the invasion of New York.

Also back on this third Marvel movie, Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as Loki, whose popularity seems to be out-doing Chris Hemsworth himself! Just check out photos from movie promo events on the official Thor Facebook Page.

Loki charms the audience at SDCC 2013.

Since his surprise appearance at Loki in SDCC 2013, Tom Hiddleston certainly seems to have generated his own league of worshippers, particularly amongst the fan-girls while normal women-folk may continue to swoon over Chris Hemsworth god-like physique. Well, fans of both Team Thor and Team Loki can gasp in delight together as the Asgardian brothers look to be sharing lots of screen time together on their forthcoming journey to the Dark World.

The classic Sir Anthony Hopkins returns as Odin, the All-Father Ruler of Asgard, together with Rene Russo as Queen Frigga. Critically acclaimed Idris Elba also reprises the stoic Heimdall, gatekeeper of the Biforst rainbow bridge. 

While S.H.I.E.L.D. watches and protects mankind on Earth, the Asgardians seems to be the equivalent counterpart on the galactic scale protecting many worlds across the nine realms.

Leading the fight with Thor are Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and the Warriors Three: Fandral (Zachary Levi), Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) and Hogun (Tadanobu Asano).

Sif

Fandral

Volstagg

Strangely Hogun doesn't get his own poster to complete the Warriors Three, or perhaps it will be a Japan exclusive.

Hogun (left) doesn't look happy to be left out of movie posters.

Space elves get nasty in the form of Malekith, played by Chris Eccleston of Dr. Who fame. Now as Ruler of Dark Elves from the realm of Svartalfheim, Malekith plots to engulf the universe in darkness.

Thor: The Dark World will unleash at Malaysian cinemas on 31st Oc-Thor-ber, Halloween Day! Let's look forward to some Asgardian cosplay at the movie opening:

Join our party of adventurers to Asgard this Thursday 31 October, 9pm at TGV IMAX Sunway Pyramid!

If you haven't yet gotten tickets for Thor The Dark World, MBO Cinemas will be giving out FREE tickets at 7pm on this THORs-day, 31 Oc-Thor-ber.

While at MBO Cinemas, the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) has also identified movie cup and postcards you can take home as souvenirs. Just purchase the following Mega-Cup and Postcard Combo for RM14.90 which comes together with soft drink plus popcorn to enjoy during the movie.

4 postcards comprising 3 Thor & 1 Loki, 2 of which features shiny gold print on the movie title.

Meanwhile, GSC gives us mere mortals a chance to be worthy of Thor's mighty hammer Mjolnir. With purchase of GSC Combo 3 or Large Signature Combo 1, you can take home a mini Thor Hammer for only RM2.

GSC also has an online contest via their website for a chance to win more Thor: The Dark World movie premiums.

Movie goers to TGV Cinemas purchasing tickets online or via mobile App are entitled to win movie premiums as well. Make you purchase then enter your booking number and details through the TGV website contest form.

Lastly, Cathay Cineplexes offers their Thor popcorn combo consisting of large popcorn, soft drink in Thor tumbler and a pack of Kinder Bueno for RM16.90.

In you want to feast like an Asgardian god, try Burger King's Hammer burgers. For a RM13.95 meal, get an Angus Black Pepper Beef or Tendercrisp Chicken burger, fries and special Lemon Bolt soft drink. Plus add RM6.90 to take back a Thor or Loki steel water bottle to bring along on your adventures to the nine realms.

The Outpost M.R.T. has been hard pressed to find any Thor: The Dark World toys and collectible merchandise locally. Hasbro has once again a series of Marvel action figures for this movie, which should be stocking on shelves soon at Toys R Us or major retailers. There are 3.75in series figures, a 10in electronic effects Thor, and various role-play items like Mjolnir. So far we have only spotted the 3.75in figures at one collectible hobby shop. Goto MarvelToyNews.com for on-shelf product photos.

3.75in Thor: The Dark World action figures from Hasbro.

10in Thor with light and sound effects.

More appealing to adult collectors could be Thor and Jane Foster figures from Diamond Select Toys (DST). However as there is no offical distributor for DST in Malaysia, we can only hope specialty hobby shops will bring them in. Check out photos of these figures and cutesy Minimates series from MarvelToysNews.com.

High end collectors and fan boys / girls will be happy to note Hot Toys is once again releasing a new version of the God of Thunder for Thor: The Dark World. In fact, there are 2 versions: Thor fully armoured (as he is during epic battles) and light armour (showing off his brawny arms), the latter looking to be an exclusive release through SideshowCollectibles.com. But it looks to be a long wait for these hot toys as release dates look to be almost 1 year away.

1/6 scale figure from Hot Toys releasing in 2014.

Exclusive "light armour" version from Sideshow showing off the God of Thunder's brawny arms.

Sadly LEGO doesn't seem to have Thor: The Dark World building sets like for Avengers and Iron Man 3. So LEGO fans will just have to play out their journey to The Dark World with Thor & Loki from last year's the Avengers sets. LEGO did parody the movie poster by converting the lead characters to their LEGO minifigure equivalents:

Now both Marvel and LEGO fans can play Thor and other superheroes to smash Loki and evil cohorts in the just released LEGO Marvel Superheroes video game:

Phew, that's wrapping it up for this M.R.T. report and hope it helps our loyal followers have a truly Thor-some experience.

Now we'll just sit back and throw some hammers while counting until Thors-day for release of Thor: The Dark World!

Disclaimer: Thor and its trademarks are copyright to Marvel Entertainment, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.