We’ve known that Thor: Ragnarok would feature plenty of elements from Marvel’s Planet Hulk storyline, including The Hulk’s fantastic gladiator armor and some battle elements for him and Thor during the film. But up until now, it didn’t seem like it would be a proper adaptation or reference to the actual storyline from the comics. That stuff doesn’t matter in the long because Hulk is in the movie and it is fun to see him on the big screen just going Hulk on people.
But now, thanks to Taika Waititi’s new interview in Total Film, we know that Planet Hulk will be represented for real in the next Thor adventure, heading to the planet itself during the film. It appears that Sakaar is a place where the Hulk ends up and becomes a gladiator while Chris Hemsworth Thor is off doing his Asgardian things before having to hunt down the green secret weapon:
Sakaar was just an insane, far-off, futuristic place which was the biggest shift for the film and these characters
Even better, Waititi calls back to the very origins of Marvel Comics for a little visual help to give it an “out there” feel:
I was really excited when Kevin [Feige] and the rest of Marvel jumped on board with the idea to use [Jack] Kirby as a big influence in the design of the film. What’s really hard is staying authentic.
It’s no secret that Kirby’s influence is a little crazy and psychedelic, despite the guy just chomping on cigars and fighting for some credit. It’s likely pretty controversial given the Kirby/Marvel history these days, but it is nice to see him get a nod in the films. It also makes Thor: Ragnarok just that much more interesting, especially when The Dark World was a snoozefest.
(Via Total Film)