Cate Blanchett is the Mysterious & Powerful Villainess HELA! - Part 1

[RoastBeast]

Question on a detail I think I missed: how was it that no one in Asgard remembered Hela or the events of her time? (wait, there was some- Loki knew about what happened to the Valkyrie)

Because... magic? Or some other reason?

 

[Loki882]

Guys, if Hela is your favourite MCU villain from 2017 and you haven't voted here just yet, go do it! Vulture has caught up with her!

Honestly I went with Vulture as well. It came down to this, both characters had fantastic performances by their actors. But Vulture, was just a better-written and more interesting character imo. Also it felt like he got more focus than she did.

 

[Finarfiniel]

I'm new on these boards but I registered because I needed a place to talk about Hela and how Cate Blanchett's portrayal was awesome. I mean with Cate you never get anything less than 100% with her performance but I was just a little bit disappointed that they didn't show her other powers like her hand of glory and her other mystical powers.

By the way I have a question, can she really die? I mean what is she called the Goddess of DEATH for if she just dies?

Welcome galadriel01! You have taken your username from my absolute favourite fictional character ever, therefore you are automatically my friend, whether you like it or not. t: I too was a little disappointed that we didn't see many of comics Hela's powers, she has so many fantastic powers that would have looked so cool in live action (her death touch, the hand of glory, her ability to astral project, e.t.c). It seems that they wanted to go more down the route of her being an elite killing force that spreads death and destruction wherever she goes than her more mystic comics counterpart that rules the underworld and collects souls as a day job.

About her being able to die, we just don't know because the movie never told us. We saw her being stabbed right through the chest and it didn't even harm her so an argument could be made that she certainly appears to be invulnerable to any kind of injury.

I did enjoy her little fight with Hogun and the entire Asgardian military. Unlimited throwing swords and occasionally got her hands dirty. I liked when she actually grabbed that one dude by the neck and snapped it, and gave this little grimace like, ugh I actually have to touch it.

My favourite thing about Hela is that she gives absolutely no ****s whatsoever. Her attitude is pretty much do whatever I say or I will slaughter your ass with no hesitation because every single one of you is beneath me, you damn plebs. t:

Question on a detail I think I missed: how was it that no one in Asgard remembered Hela or the events of her time? (wait, there was some- Loki knew about what happened to the Valkyrie)

Because... magic? Or some other reason?

Taika commented in an interview that a little known Marvel villain called Perrikus was put forward to appear in this film at one stage. In the comics he was a Dark God that Odin banished to another dimension and then erased everyone in Asgard's memory of his existence because his memory was so traumatic to them. Hela's eventual back story appears to be based on that, so we can presume that her story worked pretty much the same way. Valkyrie still remembering her could be explained away by the fact that she left Asgard immediately after Hela slaughtered all her Valkyrie sisters and therefore didn't get the mind wipe from Odin.

 

[storyteller]

So what can I say.

Hela - Very hela hot, like ..... Thanos want's to get with "Death", can't blame him.

Of course could have used more development but at the same time I'd be very okay with her popping up again in the future. I feel The Odinson family could use a sit down.

Storywise her character greatly informs us of Odin.

We get a good idea why Odin banished Thor.

Why Loki couldn't take the throne.

Why Odin was very angry at Loki's actions in Avengers.

Loki is more like Odin then he realizes but also a lot like his sister.

Hela is very hot.

 

[Lantern Venom]

I'm still surprised that she totally lived up to what we saw in the trailers. Didn't dip from that level at all.

I'd say that the trailers only hinted at how great she was. She had an understandable motivation and eye-popping powers, but it was Blanchett's ability to project a character without remorse or doubt that really brought it all together.

 

[Raiden]

I'd say that the trailers only hinted at how great she was. She had an understandable motivation and eye-popping powers, but it was Blanchett's ability to project a character without remorse or doubt that really brought it all together.

Yeah, I think if a lesser talent Hela may not turn out as great as she is. Cate Blanchette literally steals every scene she's in and truly gave us a villainess that you can't decide whether to hate her or root for her because she's too awesome. I really hope she will appear in more MCU movies in the future.

 

[galadriel01]

Welcome galadriel01! You have taken your username from my absolute favourite fictional character ever, therefore you are automatically my friend, whether you like it or not. t: I too was a little disappointed that we didn't see many of comics Hela's powers, she has so many fantastic powers that would have looked so cool in live action (her death touch, the hand of glory, her ability to astral project, e.t.c). It seems that they wanted to go more down the route of her being an elite killing force that spreads death and destruction wherever she goes than her more mystic comics counterpart that rules the underworld and collects souls as a day job.

About her being able to die, we just don't know because the movie never told us. We saw her being stabbed right through the chest and it didn't even harm her so an argument could be made that she certainly appears to be invulnerable to any kind of injury.

Thanks for the welcome! I would definitely be your friend! First of all I liked Cate Blanchett since Elizabeth but when she became Galadriel in my all time favorite movie trilogies i permanently became a stan! The way she owned the role of Galadriel, it would be impossible for me to picture another actress as Galadriel. Anyway, Hela is up there in my favorite Cate portrayals. As always, she nailed it. I ended up rooting for her to win against Surtur. I really wished she will be in Infinity War. I read somewhere that there was an instagram post that Josh Brolin posted about being in love while in character as Thanos that he eventually deleted which will probably hint that he might have a love interest in the movie. But I really do not want to get my hopes up although Cate is probably in Atlanta right now filming her other movie but who knows!

 

[galadriel01]

Welcome galadriel01! You have taken your username from my absolute favourite fictional character ever, therefore you are automatically my friend, whether you like it or not. t: I too was a little disappointed that we didn't see many of comics Hela's powers, she has so many fantastic powers that would have looked so cool in live action (her death touch, the hand of glory, her ability to astral project, e.t.c). It seems that they wanted to go more down the route of her being an elite killing force that spreads death and destruction wherever she goes than her more mystic comics counterpart that rules the underworld and collects souls as a day job.

About her being able to die, we just don't know because the movie never told us. We saw her being stabbed right through the chest and it didn't even harm her so an argument could be made that she certainly appears to be invulnerable to any kind of injury.

About her being able to die, we just don't know because the movie never told us. We saw her being stabbed right through the chest and it didn't even harm her so an argument could be made that she certainly appears to be invulnerable to any kind of injury.

Thanks for the welcome! I would definitely be your friend! First of all I liked Cate Blanchett since Elizabeth but when she became Galadriel in my all time favorite movie trilogies i permanently became a stan! The way she owned the role of Galadriel, it would be impossible for me to picture another actress as Galadriel. Anyway, Hela is up there in my favorite Cate portrayals. As always, she nailed it. I ended up rooting for her to win against Surtur. I really wished she will be in Infinity War. I read somewhere that there was an instagram post that Josh Brolin posted about being in love while in character as Thanos that he eventually deleted which will probably hint that he might have a love interest in the movie. But I really do not want to get my hopes up although Cate is probably in Atlanta right now filming her other movie but who knows!

 

[galadriel01]

Sorry double post. I'm new to this boards and I don't know how to delete it!

 

[Lantern Venom]

Yeah, I think if a lesser talent Hela may not turn out as great as she is. Cate Blanchette literally steals every scene she's in and truly gave us a villainess that you can't decide whether to hate her or root for her because she's too awesome. I really hope she will appear in more MCU movies in the future.

I have to give Marvel Studios credit for finally presenting a villain whom the heroes couldn't overcome. I assumed that when Thor couldn't take her alone, his team would do so at the end. The twist at the end really solidified her as a threat on a different level.

 

[galadriel01]

‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Writer Talks Writing For Cate Blanchett

“The toughest character to write had to be Hela. I think there is a built-in intimidation factor of it being Cate Blanchett, who I would say at the very least is tied with a couple of others for the best in the world. Because we were moving so fast and I had to turn the script around so fast, those first two months, January and February, my weekend meant I got to work from home on Sunday. I was in the office, sometimes until two, three in the morning. I would think, as we were moving forward, “You know what I really want? I want Hela to give a speech. I want to see Cate Blanchett as the Goddess of Death stating her intentions to a bunch of people.” That was one approach.”

To that end, Pearson went on to discuss how intimidating it was knowing one of the top actresses in the world would be playing a character you wrote:

“Hela was the one that took the most work and probably that I felt most insecure about until we got it into the shape we got it in. I really wanted Cate Blanchett to be happy with her role. As intimidated as I couldn’t help but be, she was an unbelievably sweet, fun great person to be around. All of the set experiences were fantastic. All of the actors were fantastic.. She did kind of a vocal warmup thing and she had a lot of scenes in crowds. She would also say in the morning, “Whoever wants to come along and do this thing with me.” And of course Taika would get up there. People were doing these wacky sound vocal warmup things. It felt very family. I don’t want to give up the impression that she’s aloof or intimidating. I was just intimidated on my own.”


https://heroichollywood.com/thor-ragnarok-writer-cate-blanchett/

Honestly, I wish he could have written more Hela!

 

[Silvermoth]

Loved Hela. She served drag realness and was incredible. She always looked like a renaissance painting and I love the fan theory that she was just a what if adventure where Galadriel said "ah f*** it" and just took the one ring

 

[Iceman]

Loved Hela. She served drag realness and was incredible. She always looked like a renaissance painting and I love the fan theory that she was just a what if adventure where Galadriel said "ah f*** it" and just took the one ring

Haha, love that theory!

 

[BigThor]

Would the ring give Galadriel powers like Hela?

 

[David H.]

She seemed oddly disconnected from the film, at least after all the stuff on Skaar. Blanchett is clearly having fun and makes any scene she’s in but there’s that transition where you’re left with at weird empty spot in the film.

 

[RoastBeast]

*respectful topic snip*


Taika commented in an interview that a little known Marvel villain called Perrikus was put forward to appear in this film at one stage. In the comics he was a Dark God that Odin banished to another dimension and then erased everyone in Asgard's memory of his existence because his memory was so traumatic to them. Hela's eventual back story appears to be based on that, so we can presume that her story worked pretty much the same way. Valkyrie still remembering her could be explained away by the fact that she left Asgard immediately after Hela slaughtered all her Valkyrie sisters and therefore didn't get the mind wipe from Odin.

Spoiler

Thanks, Finarfiniel! It was bugging me... When I saw it in 3d yesterday, I focused hard on that moment when Surtur takes Hela out, and I am convinced you are right- there was a green poof right before she would have been nailed.

teleported!

 

[Iceman]

Spoiler

I don't know how she could be so slow as to get hit by a guy that big flailing such a huge weapon anyway.

 

[Iceman]

I'd say that the trailers only hinted at how great she was. She had an understandable motivation and eye-popping powers, but it was Blanchett's ability to project a character without remorse or doubt that really brought it all together.

Yeah, she really didn't put a foot wrong.

 

[galadriel01]

This is interesting! I hope they will show how they did this on the DVD extras like the ones in LOTR DVD extras.

Thor: Ragnarok: How Marvel Conjured a Hela-Awesome New Villain

Visual-effects supervisor Jake Morrison on creating Cate Blanchett’s hell of a goddess.

"...Morrison, who typically comes aboard a Marvel film as early as pre-production, describes the process of designing Hela as “a crazy free-for-all.” Why? Blame (or credit) the script: “She has to get stabbed in the suit, and then the suit heals around it. There’s a moment where her cape absorbs bullets . . . there were moments where we actually had the antlers”—their affectionate nickname for Hela’s battle headgear—“turn into face-mask shields and stuff like that, almost like samurai-style outfits.”

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/11/thor-ragnarok-hela-cate-blanchett-design

 

[moonlitdays]

Okay I rewatched the movie for the first time today and I was wondering why Hela kept Skurge around when he was visibly doubting himself and hesitating? Was she so powerful she just didn't care? But in that case couldn't she have gotten a better executioner?

 

[terry78]

She knew he was probably kind of a self serving guy that knew enough to keep his mouth shut considering she was gonna kill him alongside Volstagg and Fandral before he said he just "worked there." She's fine with people that fall into line and don't get in the way.

 

[galadriel01]

It seems that the visual effects and costume design teams find Hela as the most challenging part and I think even the writing team. It's a testament I guess to what an amazing villain Hela is and also the caliber of Cate Blanchett as an actress!

THE 'THOR: RAGNAROK' COSTUMES ARE JUST AS FUN AS THE MOVIE

Costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo discusses Cate Blanchett's "goth" look as Hela, the Goddess of Death, and the symbolism behind Thor's and Loki's wardrobe evolution.

How did you bring Hela's villain costume to life from the comics and update it for the movie?

It was a very, very loyal interpretation of the [comic book] character because it was so perfect to begin with. We just had to [update it to reflect current technology] and add a little bit more magic to it. This is a costume that is 100-percent technological in a way that used super-modern technology to make it. I chose [to work with] a company that I always use for my specialty costumes, Ironhead Studio [run by] Jose Fernandez in Los Angeles. We had to digitally print the fabric with a super-special pattern. [We also created a] system of closures, so [Blanchett] can look like she's wearing it like it was a glove because she has to look so sexy and dark and really, a bit goth. It absolutely captured the whole image, which is not difficult with Cate Blanchett. [Editors' note: Agreed.]

We actually made the headpiece. It was really as big as the comic book character's. We just had to make it for motion capture because it was [too] big and difficult to maneuver and act in it. But we had it initially and it was fantastic and she looked just amazing. A real goddess of death.

What was the most challenging part of costume designing for "Thor: Ragnarok?"

I think Hela was challenging because she has to look flawless and [the costume] had to look like a part of her own body. Her body really shifts and shape-shifts into weapons. That is made in post, naturally, but we have to accommodate the canvas to do that and without [distracting from] the incredible shape that she has, which is all Cate Blanchett.


https://fashionista.com/2017/11/thor-ragnarok-movie-costumes

 

[Iceman]

Thanks for the welcome!

I wish the post credit scene showed her alive and defeated and kinda unconscious then she suddenly looks up and smiles giving a hint of being rescued but not showing the image of Thanos.

Spoiler

I would rather they showed her alive too and could commit to her being involved in IW soon after so that they could include her in the marketing. I know I'm jumping a lot of steps forward there but she could be the ultimate foil for Thanos. Could imagine him going crazy with his love for her lol.

 

[CaptainWagner]

Question on a detail I think I missed: how was it that no one in Asgard remembered Hela or the events of her time? (wait, there was some- Loki knew about what happened to the Valkyrie)

Because... magic? Or some other reason?

I also had that question. I assumed what others said, that Odin used some manner of magic to erase the memory of her. Would have been nice to explain that, though. But all in all, she was great. Really hoping she's secretly popping up in Infinity War.

 

[Iceman]

Okay I rewatched the movie for the first time today and I was wondering why Hela kept Skurge around when he was visibly doubting himself and hesitating? Was she so powerful she just didn't care? But in that case couldn't she have gotten a better executioner?

Everyone else on Asgard was probably too loyal to the cause.