Cate Blanchett is the Mysterious & Powerful Villainess HELA!

[BigThor]

We've been told that Ragnarok will teach us that Odin was doing a lot more than people knew to keep the universe safe so I think our impression of him will change.

I think it's going to be more exposition than actually showing us, Marvel Studios seems to love talking about someone being powerful and not showing it.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[HammerDown]

FANDANGO set visit interview with Cate Blanchett and "legendary" stuntwoman Zoe Bell.

CATE BLANCHETT AND ZOE BELL ON CREATING MARVEL’S FIRST FEMALE SUPER-VILLAIN

In the Marvel comics, Hela is the Asgardian goddess of death, a super-angry superbeing who has ruled over the realm of the dead and clashed constantly with Thor and his dad, Odin, while also teaming up with other enemies of Asgard such as Loki and Malekith, and generally is a massive pain in the backside to the God of Thunder and his family and allies. She is one of Thor’s most powerful foes and one of the Marvel Universe’s most formidable villains.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hela is finally being brought to live-action life by one of Hollywood’s most formidable actresses, Cate Blanchett, who is playing the goddess of death in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok. Fandango was one of a small group of outlets that got to sit and chat on the Australian set of the movie with not just Blanchett about the role, but also legendary stuntwoman Zoe Bell, who actually came out of retirement as a stuntperson (she’s been pursuing straight acting jobs) to work with Blanchett on this project. Here’s what we learned from these two amazing women…

Cate was in the dark about Hela when she got the part.

“What I like about playing her is that I really didn’t know anything about her and that’s really exciting,” Blanchett told us. “I mean obviously, the deep, hardcore fan base would know a lot about her but there was kind of a really interesting process of discovery for me and I guess like any of the Marvel characters, they have really interesting and varied back stories so it depends which origin story you read as to why she’s been kept at bay for so long. But yeah, playing the Goddess of Death has been really interesting.”

Hela is pretty ticked off when we meet her.

“She’s been banished for a very long time, and I think if you were under the Asgardian stairs for 5,000 years, you'd be a little bit cross. But I think it's very interesting to bring the concept of Death into a world that's ostensibly immortal. You look at the Western world and in most cultures, Death has been banished from the world in which most Western people live. And as a result, I think it's made life rather screwed up. So I think that there are a lot of unresolved issues that she has with Asgard and each step of the way, she doesn't meet people who are receptive to her, and I think she's quite bewildered as to why people are frightened of her.”

Her powers expand and change throughout the movie.

“Her powers have been great and varied and evolving. Having not made a Marvel movie before, I thought it would all be quite set in stone and you'd just be stepping into the silhouette and the strings would be pulled for you slightly. But the fact is that very early on, I threw a lot of ideas into the ring with Taika (Waititi, director) and the motion capture people and the special effects crew, and they took that and ran with it so it's been evolving...but she's got a lot of power.”

Zoe Bell says working with Cate on the stunts and action has been a real collaborative effort.

"She’s been amazing and wants to be collaborative,” says Bell. “Which is always our hope ‘cause I feel like that’s when you get the best, when all departments are aiming to make the same movie. She’s clearly an expert in her field which has been amazing for me for my own personal reasons. I’ve been just absorbing sponge-like the whole time. But she seems really comfortable with me being considered the expert in my field, and between the two of us we’re going to make the baddest Hela there is."

Cate was equally praiseworthy of Bell, whose previous films as an actor or stuntperson include Kill Bill, Iron Man 3, Death Proof and Oblivion.

"Zoe Bell is not only an extraordinary stuntwoman beyond compare, but she's a fantastic actor, so to work with that and have her as a resource and a partner in creating this whole thing has been great. As a result, under her tutelage, I've been able to do a lot more of that physical stuff than I thought possible."

Zoe revealed that Cate needed a little time to get used to the amount of action in a Marvel film.

"It was early on and it was one of the bigger fight scenes. I won’t speak too much about it, but she had other prior arrangements so we didn’t have a lot of time with her. I think there was a minute where she was just like, 'I don’t think I can do all of this.' So we kind of showed her the bits that we absolutely needed her to do, and then once she felt comfortable with it then she actually was like, 'All right, give me a little bit more. Okay, I can probably do that.' Once you take away the onslaught feeling, then people realize they’re more capable, and she’s far more capable than I think she gives herself credit for."

Cate says there’s no pressure involved in playing Marvel’s first female super-villain.

“I think you only feel pressure if you think this is the only shot that women will have, which is ridiculous. I mean, there's a huge female fan base and having a daughter myself, you know, you want them to be able to identify with the bad-ass end of the spectrum as well as the heroes...so I didn't feel pressure, I was super excited."

On Taika Waititi injecting a substantial dose of humor into the movie:

"That's what I love about the Marvel Universe and how it exists in the film world, is that it knows when to put its tongue in its cheek, and I think that's great,” says Blanchett. “I think that's what makes it fun. It knows when it's doing something grand and, in terms of the comic book universe, important. But it also knows when it needs to send itself up. Taika's got this rare ability to be at once really cool and incredibly daggy (i.e. quirky), you know.”

Like just about every other actor around, Cate channeled Andy Serkis when it came time to do motion capture work as Hela -- her first substantial work in that arena.

"Andy Serkis is the pioneer of this whole kind of way of working and really authoring a performance,” says Blanchett, who was recently directed by Serkis as the voice of Kaa in his upcoming version of The Jungle Book. “I learned a lot watching him and working with him on his very dark, interesting version of The Jungle Book. Taika and Peter Jackson (for whom Blanchett played Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings) both insisted on having a lot of the physical world present. Taika knows how important it is for the actors to, even if they're not gonna have the complete physical world, have a sense of what the atmosphere is that they're walking into. That really helps, so you're not in a complete blue screen universe with no idea what you're looking at or what you're touching."

Portions of Hela’s costume -- including her cape and her famous many-antlered headpiece -- are created almost entirely through CG, which Zoe says she and Cate had to work around in their performances.

"It has been a bit of a consideration for us in terms of our movements and stuff but because it’s been so collaborative between the departments there’s also an element of, 'You guys should just do whatever it is you do and we can work around it.' It’s my job to work around Cate to make Hela look as amazing as I can. And then it’s their job to work around what they have in the physical world to embellish on it and make it look amazing."

Cate is not sure if Hela will have a role to play in the evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

"I don't know. I suppose it depends what they end up with. You never know. I've had an absolute ball but it doesn't mean my work is any good (laughs). I don't know how to answer that question and I'm not being evasive. I don't know. I mean, that's up to the big bosses.”

https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/cate-blanchett-and-zoe-bell-on-creating-marvels-first-female-super-villain-752683

 

[Iceman]

Glad she's enjoyed it and hope she's back. Really looking forward to seeing the variety of Hela's powers.

 

[Mjölnir]

Very nice interview. This just adds to everything saying that the production on this film seems to have been highly enjoyable for everyone involved and gone very smoothly. I hope that really comes out in the film.

 

[genomancer]

Welcome to the Hela fanclub, genomancer! Hela is also the character I'm most excited about (pretty obviously), when I heard that Cate Blanchett was rumoured to be playing her, my interest in this movie went from 'mildly intrigued' to 'PUT THIS MOVIE IN MY EYEBALLS NOW', lol. Wow, that fanart is amazing, I love how you've captured that sly evil grin that Cate does so well. t: You're clearly very talented, if you do any more, please share, you're definitely not breaking any forum rules as long as everyone is fully clothed.

She definitely seems to kill the Einherjar soldiers and then reanimate them as her undead minions from what we've seen so far. That's pretty terrifying really, the more Asgardians she kills, the greater and more unstoppable her army of the dead becomes.

Welcome to the forum! That's really cool fanart.

Thanks guys. I plan on doing more, especially on doing a Hela/Surtur combo when his detailed full design comes out. The trailer stuff is too small. I'm pretty much here to share stuff and just read up on theories. I will join in on the conversation from time to time. This is a really cool fan forum! So happy to see a lot of peeps excited about her. Cate Blanchett's got her sophistication and swagger up to eleven(elven? ) based on what they've shown us.

 

[Finarfiniel]

FANDANGO set visit interview with Cate Blanchett and "legendary" stuntwoman Zoe Bell.

https://www.fandango.com/movie-news...ing-marvels-first-female-super-villain-752683

An extremely insightful interview, thanks for posting HD! This paragraph in particular is really interesting to me, it seems to hint a lot about Hela's possible motives:

“She’s been banished for a very long time, and I think if you were under the Asgardian stairs for 5,000 years, you'd be a little bit cross. But I think it's very interesting to bring the concept of Death into a world that's ostensibly immortal. You look at the Western world and in most cultures, Death has been banished from the world in which most Western people live. And as a result, I think it's made life rather screwed up. So I think that there are a lot of unresolved issues that she has with Asgard and each step of the way, she doesn't meet people who are receptive to her, and I think she's quite bewildered as to why people are frightened of her.”

The whole concept of people shunning death and old age in Western culture is absolutely bang on, and Hela being angry about the Asgardians attempting to banish Death itself and disrespecting the natural balance is absolutely genius. It also ties in well with some of the themes introduced in Doctor Strange, such as Kaecilius calling death 'an insult' and wanting to live in the Dark Dimension where time and death do not exist, not to mention the Ancient One commenting to Strange that it is death itself that gives life meaning. The life/death balance is essential in our reality, and if that balance isn't maintained then things become 'screwed up' as Cate put it. It also ties in extremely well with Thanos' potential motivations in IW. Interesting stuff!

Thanks guys. I plan on doing more, especially on doing a Hela/Surtur combo when his detailed full design comes out. The trailer stuff is too small. I'm pretty much here to share stuff and just read up on theories. I will join in on the conversation from time to time. This is a really cool fan forum! So happy to see a lot of peeps excited about her. Cate Blanchett's got her sophistication and swagger up to eleven(elven? ) based on what they've shown us.

A Hela/Surtur piece would be fantastic, I can't wait to see it. I'm really excited to see Hela and Surtur hopefully working together in some capacity in Ragnarok. t: You can't beat that elven swagger.

 

[Finarfiniel]

Leaked scene from Infinity War

Spoiler

 

[Mjölnir]

Leaked scene from Infinity War

Spoiler

t:

Which comic is that from?

 

[Finarfiniel]

t:

Which comic is that from?

I'm not sure, someone posted it on tumblr with no other info so I've been trying to find out. It seems to be from one of the new Marvel Legacy books, and from the hammer logo at the top I'm presuming it must be the Thor one. I'll update when I find out.

 

[HammerDown]

Noticed something that might be considered a massive spoiler.

Spoiler

I'm not even joking. Here is another spoiler warning because this is big.

Spoiler

[BLACKOUT]Check out that wall panel on the left. The one that seems to be destroyed. Look familiar? Because i am pretty sure that is Odin and Hela together. Hela is holding what looks like mjolnir and she is also petting what looks like a small Fenris.[/BLACKOUT]

 

[HammerDown]

The Indian Express

Thor Ragnarok actor Cate Blanchett: Best villains are always those that you kind of love

Cate Blanchett who will be seen as Goddess of Death, Hela in Chris Hemsworth's superhero movie, said that playing the fantastical character of Hela, a female villain in "Thor: Ragnarok", turned out to be a "different challenge" for her.

Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett says playing the fantastical character of Hela, a female villain in “Thor: Ragnarok”, turned out to be a “different challenge” for her. Hela is the Goddess of Death.

“It’s a different challenge because you still want to believe the character is real. And particularly with a character like Hela, who comes out of nowhere. It’s not like she’s appeared quietly in a couple of other films,” Blanchett said in a statement.

“Some people have knowledge of her. Some people won’t actually know her at all. So you have to strike a balance between those fans who do know her and those who do not. You can be mysterious for them but also give enough information of back story so that you understand why the character does what she or he does because I think the best villains are always those that you kind of love but hate what they do,” she added.

Blanchett says “there’s an incredible, fantastic element to Hela but you still want there to be an outline of a person in there that people can grasp onto”.

Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Ragnarok” is directed by Taika Waititi and also stars Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins and Jeff Goldblum among others. The movie will release in India on November 3.

Talking about entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Blanchett said: “I got a call from my agent who said that Kevin Feige (Marvel Studios President) wanted to send me a package. I was trying to play cool but I was so excited because you don’t get offered these things very often.

“Then after doing a little bit of research, I realised that there hadn’t yet been a female villain in one of the Marvel movies before. I felt the role could be really exciting.”

http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/hollywood/thor-ragnarok-actor-cate-blanchett-best-villains-are-always-those-that-you-kind-of-love-4875817/

 

[HammerDown]

Otherworldly.

 

[StarLord]

^ That's me the next time I use public transport.

 

[HammerDown]

Collider set visit interview with Cate Blanchett.

Cate Blanchett on Playing Marvel’s First Female Villain in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’

Strange but true: every Marvel Cinematic Universe villain up until Thor: Ragnarok has been male. Sure, there have been female henchwoman (Nebula, Ellen Brandt) but the main villains – always a guy. It’s pretty shocking that over sixteen films and nearly ten years, not a single woman has been the ‘big bad’. That all changes with Thor: Ragnarok as Cate Blanchett costars as the film’s heavy: Hela, The Goddess of Death.

On the set of Thor: Ragnarok, every actor – Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Tessa Thompson – all praised Blanchett, citing her performance as the gold standard for future Marvel villains. Blanchett, herself, seemed to be having a ball, chewing the scenery away from even Loki. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen an Oscar-winning actress, decked out with mo-cap dots and heavy Goth eyeliner, pantomime throwing force-field bombs with her hands. It may have taken sixteen films – but the MCU not only has its first female villain but also (seemingly) one of its best.

In the following group on-set interview with Cate Blanchett, the actress discusses portraying Marvel’s first female villain, finding the right tone for the performance and whether Hela will factor into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. For the full interview, read below.

What can you tell us about playing Hela?

CATE BLANCHETT: Well — she’s the Goddess of Death, but what I liked about playing her was that I really didn’t know anything about her. Obviously, the deep, hardcore fan base knows a lot. [But for me] there was a really interesting process of discovery. Like with any of the of the Marvel characters, they have really interesting and varied backstories…

What can you tell us about what motivates Hela? I know she’s the Goddess of Death but is there a more personal reason [for her actions]?

BLANCHETT: She’s been banished for a very long time and if you were locked under the Asgardian stairs for 5,000 years, you’d be a little bit cross. It’s interesting to bring the concept of Death into a world that’s ostensibly immortal. There’s a side of Death, which can be gentle and kind, and there’s a side of Death, which can be brutal and savage depending on whose death it is. [She has] a lot of unresolved issues with Asgard [and] the more havoc she wreaks the stronger she becomes.

What kind of powers does Hela have?

BLANCHETT: You know, having not made a Marvel movie before, I thought it would all be set in stone. You’d just be stepping into the silhouette and the strings would be pulled for you. So the fact that very early on, I threw a lot of ideas into the ring with Taika and with the Motion Capture people and the Special Effects crew and then they took [my ideas] and ran with it. It’s like what if I shot this out? What if I play with my cape? Could stuff come out of that? It’s been an organic thing [and] quite loose actually. But she’s got a lot of powers.

There’s been a lot of talk around Hela being Marvel’s first female villain. For you, when you signed on, did you feel any pressure about representing that?

BLANCHETT: You only feel pressure if you think this is the only shot that women will have, which is ridiculous. I mean, there’s a huge female fan base and having a daughter myself, you want them to be able to identify with [the villains] as well as the heroes. Of course, Marvel [just] announced Captain Marvel. [So] this is the beginning of a rolling stone that’s gonna gather a lot of female moss. Oh that’s a terrible image… Anyway, I didn’t feel pressure. I was super excited because, like with any film, whether it’s an action film or a small indie drama, it depends on who’s looking down the lens and when it’s Taika – that for me was a really exciting thing.

A lot of the Marvel villains had a hard time living up to Loki. Is that something that concerned you, especially since you guys share a movie?

BLANCHETT: I have a vagina. And I don’t think he has a vagina. Although [to be fair], I don’t know if Hela has a vagina either (laughs). No… but, you know, the original sketches that I got – Tom [Hiddleston] and I talked about how Loki and Hela looked very similar. And I said, ‘OK, well how can we either make that a virtue or be a little bit more creative?’ [Taika and the producers] were really receptive so even though Hela doesn’t carry the whole film, I’ve [worked] with the makeup, hair and all the different departments to give her a visual journey so that’s she’s got somewhere to go as she becomes increasingly powerful. Her look evolves and calcifies a little bit.

I feel like Taika has directed more humor into Thor: Ragnarok. The scene we saw today between you and Loki, there seems to be a playful energy… Is that something that Hela possesses throughout the movie? Is there a lot of playful taunting in her villainy?

BLANCHETT: Yeah, I think there’s got to be. That’s what I love about the Marvel universe — it knows when to put its tongue in its cheek. That’s what makes it fun. It knows when it’s doing something grand and, in terms of the comic book universe, important. But it also knows when it needs to send itself up. Taika’s got this rare ability to be at once really cool and incredibly ‘daggy’.

[What’s ‘daggy’?]

BLANCHETT: I don’t know what the translation is… It’s not nerdy. It’s more kind of endearing than nerdy. Nerdy is a bit more pejorative. Daggy is just like… It’s quirky, dorky, nerdy, cool… Daggy equals daggy. We’ll get the T-shirts printed.

It looks like there’s a history between Hela and every character: Valkyrie, Loki, Thor, and Hulk. What are those relationships like and are some of them like more important?

BLANCHETT: Val and Hela have a rather problematic history…

We heard about a surreal flashback.

BLANCHETT: Oh My God, that was incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it… They had a horse, a real horse, galloping through the studio but the way it was recorded, it really did capture that feeling of… You know when you have a dream that’s also a borderline nightmare, it has both a lightness and incredible weight. It’s that strange. It really captured that dreamlike sensation that I have anyways. It was amazing.

[Having] worked on the Tolkien films, how much did that prepare you for your experiences today? Have you worked much with motion-capture previously?

BLANCHETT: I have Andy Serkis, who’s such a pioneer of this whole way of working… I learned a lot watching and working with him on his very dark, interesting version of The Jungle Book. But with Taika and Peter Jackson, they both insisted on having a lot of the physical world present. You should see Taika’s own illustrations. He’s an incredible artist. He really knows how important it is for the actors to have a sense of what the atmosphere that they’re walking into is. So you’re not in a complete blue screen universe with no idea what you’re looking at or what you’re touching.

We spoke with Chris [Hemsworth] and he mentioned how reading the script, he could see the villain that Hela would be and then was kind of taken aback when he got his first look at the character that you crafted….

BLANCHETT: What the? (laughs)

In a positive way…

BLANCHETT: You know… I came in [for production] a little later… so I saw some dailies just so I could get a sense of the tone. And I was riveted. I thought, ‘Wow, this is so… It’s like Chris has harnessed all the energy of the previous film, [but] then also subverted it.’ It was really thrilling to watch and was really helpful for me to know I could stretch it that far. You’re in such safe hands with Taika tonally.

Your character, as the Goddess of Death has certain attributes that are similar to Mistress of Death, which would play a big role…

BLANCHETT: It’s part of my name.

So can you say anything about whether or not you would have a possible continued presence in MCU?

BLANCHETT: I don’t know. I suppose it depends what they end up with. You never know. I’ve had an absolute ball but it doesn’t mean my work is any good. Having fun doesn’t necessarily mean quality… I don’t know how to answer that question… That’s up to the big bosses.

http://collider.com/cate-blanchett-thor-ragnarok-interview/#Marvel

 

[RoastBeast]

^ That's me the next time I use public transport.

With that hat, you won't have anyone sitting next to you, either. Or behind you or standing with the strap...

 

[HammerDown]

 

[Iceman]

Otherworldly.

She can have my seat

 

[Loki882]

Someone should post that shot of her at the end (after Thor called her "the worst"). I cannot seem to find a gif of it myself yet, but WOW does she look fantastic there, without the headdress.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[Loki882]

^Ah yes, that'd be the one.

 

[Iceman]

Yes, that’s a bloody good look!

 

[RoastBeast]

I think Tony called the wrong Asgardian "Reindeer Games"

 

[P Supreme]

oh my god the new spot she looks mint

 

[HammerDown]

Hela is crushing it in every single piece of footage/marketing we've had. She is so epic and Cate Blanchett is just doing an outstanding job with that character. Her headress works so well and it looks like an evil crown. It seems to move, change shape and size according to her state of mind which is very cool and will add another layer of depth to the character as well.

On the set of Thor: Ragnarok, every actor – Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Tessa Thompson – all praised Blanchett, citing her performance as the gold standard for future Marvel villains.