FILM · 2017 · USA
Thor: Ragnarok
- Directed by
- Taika Waititi
- Runtime
- 131 min
- Studio
- Marvel Studios
273 archived facts 7 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Sep 2026
Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok, the destruction of his home-world and the end of Asgardian civilization, at the hands of a powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela.
Summary: TMDB
21 Easter Eggs and References in Thor: Ragnarok
- #022
Taika Waititi had wanted to use Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" (1972) since he first included it in the scratch reel he used to pitch the film to Marvel in 2015. Led Zeppelin is known for rarely licensing its music for feature films, television series or video games, and it took Marvel two years to secure the rights. Most other films featuring Led Zeppelin music are connected to Cameron Crowe, the rock journalist who covered the band for Rolling Stone (e.g. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Almost Famous (2000)). Led Zeppelin did not agree to license the song to Marvel until it saw the completed trailer in 2017. Marvel paid a reported $2 million for the song.
- #030
(At about 10 minutes) Loki (Tom Hiddleston) mentions a time when his trick turned Thor (Chris Hemsworth) into a frog. This is a nod to the Walter Simonson story in which Loki briefly turns Thor into a frog (though he meets a frog named Puddlegulp and shares his power with him, turning him into the Thunder Frog Throg).
- #043
The English term "Hell" used for the Underworld derives from Anglo-Saxon references to the goddess Hel/Hela and her realm of the dead. The Old English term "helle-rúne" (sorceress, witch) also derives from the goddess's name.
- #069
(At about the 29th minute) When Thor crashes on Sakaar and talks to the scavengers, the corpse of a Bilgesnipe he mentioned in The Avengers (2012) — "Large. Scaly. Has big antlers" — lies in the background.
- #072
At around 1 hour 30 minutes, Loki's armor in this film is based on his costume in the "Agent of Asgard" comic book, in which he tries to change his fate and become a hero, or at least no longer be seen as a villain. The film references this when Thor tells Loki that he will always be the same, and this genuinely inspires him to act heroically.
- #077
At around 48 minutes, Korg (Taika Waititi) offers Thor (Chris Hemsworth) a three-pronged wooden spear and says, "it's not much use unless you want to kill three vampires who are all clustered together," a reference to Waititi's earlier film What We Do in the Shadows (2014), which is about a group of vampires living together.
- #079
In the second half of this film, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) wears a cape made from the curtains in the Incredible Hulk's (Mark Ruffalo's) apartment. This is a subtle reference to his first encounter with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in The Avengers (2012) and his line, "Does mother know you weareth her drapes?"
- #080
At around 1 hour 14 minutes, while Thor (Chris Hemsworth) tries to get the Quinjet's password, the successful password was "Point Break," a slight reference to the nickname Tony Stark gave the blond Avenger because he looked so much like Patrick Swayze (Point Break (1991)). "Point Break" is also the name Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) gave Thor when they met in The Avengers (2012).
- #081
The names of the various spaceships in this film reference the Australian Holden car brand. They are the model names of various iconic models such as Commodore, Torana, Statesman and Kingswood.
- #095
Contains a major spoiler — show
In a deleted scene included on this film's home video and digital releases, titled "Execution," Michael Rooker cuts down one of the Asgardian women whom Skurge (Karl Urban) has been ordered by Hela to execute, making a surprise appearance in the title cameo without being listed as Yondu. This is a joke about his death in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (2017), and all Yondu does is ask where Kevin is. It is probably a reference to producer Kevin Feige, to talk about his death in the previously mentioned film.
- #100
The song that plays during the opening and the final battles (Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song") refers to Valhalla, the hall in Asgard where those who die in battle are carried by the Valkyries and left to rest until Odin calls them at Ragnarök. In this film, Hela ironically calls them to begin Ragnarök.
- #105
"Hela" is the Marvel Comics version of Hel, the ruler of the Underworld of the same name. Hel's realm is part of Niflheim ("Abode of Mist," the world of darkness), one of the Nine Worlds. Niflheim is depicted as a primordial realm of ice and cold. The souls of men who did not die a heroic or notable death (including those who did not die in battle and those who died of illness or old age) were sent to Niflheim and came under Hel's control.
- #124
At around the 7th minute, while Skurge (Karl Urban) is showing his "treasures" to the girls, he is briefly seen using a "Shake Weight," the notorious product sold on late-night television. Another Marvel character, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), referenced the "Shake Weight" infomercial in Deadpool (2016).
- #166
Valkyrie bears the designation SR-142. In the Marvel comics, Valkyrie was a mortal woman named Samantha Parrington who briefly served as an enemy of the Hulk in "The Incredible Hulk #142" (August 1971).
- #167
Karl Urban (Skurge) is the only main character not featured on the main poster.
- #179
All of the ships are named after classic cars from New Zealand and Australia, including the Commodore, the Escort, the Kingswood and more.
- #183
The Grandmaster's Commodore spaceship resembles the spaceship on the cover of Electric Light Orchestra's "Out of the Blue" (1977). The song "Mr. Blue Sky" from that album appears in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (2017).
- #195
After Thor lands on Sakaar, he is strapped to a chair and taken on a psychedelic journey through a tunnel that "introduces" him to Sakaar. During his chair ride, you can hear the song "Pure Imagination" from the original "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" soundtrack. This is a direct reference to the psychedelic boat ride on which Willy Wonka takes his visitors during the film.
- #203
There are two moments that hint the Incredible Hulk will appear (aside from film trailers and posters). When Thor first arrives in Asgard with the dragon's head, his blood was green and purple, the Hulk's signature colors. Later, when he visits New York City with Loki in street clothes, he wears a green shirt and a purple shirt, another nod to the Hulk's colors.
- #229
This was Taika Waititi's first film shot in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, in contrast to his previous films, which were shot in 1.85:1. However, when the film was shown in IMAX, it was specially formatted to a 1.90:1 aspect ratio, which is very close to 1.85:1.
- #230
Cate Blanchett appeared in Elizabeth (1998) alongside Christopher Eccleston, who played the villain in the previous film, Thor: The Dark World (2013). Elizabeth also featured Sir Richard Attenborough, who had appeared with Sir Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park (1993), as well as Nick Fury actor Samuel L. Jackson. Attenborough directed Chaplin (1992), which starred Sir Anthony Hopkins and fellow MCU cast members Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei.
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