Behind-the-scenes That Make Us Love Thor Even More

Along with behind-the-scenes features and the occasional — and often hilarious — Marvel One-Shot short film, the Marvel Studios gag reels are a favorite staple of Marvel Blu-ray releases. Not quite as anticipated as the films themselves, they’re still popular enough that Marvel usually releases truncated previews of the gag reels before the Blu-rays arrive. Over the years we’ve gotten to see a Guardians of the Galaxy vs. Ronan dance-off, Scarlett Johansson finishing that “Avengers Assemble” cry the camera refused to give us at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Mark Ruffalo cutting short his famous “I’m always angry” moment to turn tail and run the hell away — and in Guardians of the Galaxy’s gag reel, they actually rendered a scene with fully realized Rocket and Groot so they could have their own gag in Knowhere.

Fans not only get to laugh, but we also see the tiniest sliver of the bonds formed behind the scenes. When we hear the crew break into friendly laughter at Cate Blanchett tripping backwards into her throne or Karl Urban breaking character to giggle at Skurge the Executioner’s Shake Weight antics, it’s easy to at least imagine you’re getting a glimpse of the kind of makeshift family a film production can create. And it’s hard not to fall in love with them just a little bit.

Here are some examples of the hilarious bloopers, gags, and “family” snapshots waiting on the Thor: Ragnarok Blu-ray.

No one can catch anything

In the comics — and in the films, for that matter — one of Mjolnir’s amazing properties is that when Thor wills it back to his hand, it comes straight away. Even if the hammer needs to cross nations, continents, or blast into space like it did in the final battle between Thor and Malekith in Thor: The Dark World, Mjolnir always comes home.

Unfortunately, the fantastic abilities of a huge mallet are one thing, and the properties of Thor: Ragnarok’s props are another. The Blu-ray’s gag reel proves that either someone off-camera wasn’t very good at throwing, or the cast was just not very good at catching.

This kind of thing is to be expected. Probably happens in every kind of film, particularly action-heavy projects. You can’t expect Chris Hemsworth to catch prop Mjolnirs perfectly every time(or, as was the case in the Doctor Strange scene, prop umbrella Mjolnirs), particularly when the shot calls for him to not even look in the direction the hammer is coming from.

Perhaps the fate of Mjolnir early in Thor: Ragnarok caused a mystic anti-catching curse to settle on the film — Mjolnir’s vengeance on the cast and crew. Or perhaps the cast was simply too emotionally distraught to focus after the death of beloved “Meow Meow.”

Low blows

Thor: Ragnarok is noteworthy for, among other things, including powerful leading female characters. Not only did Cate Blanchett give us a fun and utterly vicious portrayal of Marvel Studios’ first female lead villain, but Tessa Thompson was funny, believable, and absolutely badass as the tough and no-BS Valkyrie. It’s a testament to Marvel’s commitment to diversity and representing the under- and/or misrepresented, and a particularly bold move considering the film’s marquee superheroes — Thor and Hulk — are arguably the most stereotypical alpha males of the MCU.

And so it feels if not fitting, then at least just a little bit funnier when we get to giggle at the series of near-crotch shots that come early in the gag reel, especially since almost all of them come unintentionally from the always apologetic Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, or Tessa Thompson’s stunt double.

Mark Ruffalo doesn’t appear in any of these gags, so everyone involved is spared seeing how quick he might turn into the Other Guy if that happens.

She’ll carelessly cut you and laugh while you’re bleeding

Cate Blanchett was perfect as the Norse goddess of death (and it’s fun to consider, remembering her role in Peter Jackson’s Tolkien films, if Hela might be something like what Galadriel could’ve become had she taken the One Ring from Frodo). She was brutal, unforgiving, and like all great villains, she was a lot of fun.

Her success in the role isn’t surprising considering her talent and accomplishments, but even though it’s there just for laughs, it’s interesting how much the gag reel reveals about Blanchett’s commitment to the role.

Most, if not all, of Blanchett’s bloopers aren’t from messing up lines or missing her mark — they’re from an immersion so complete she seems to forget it’s make believe. A lot of her “mistakes” came during action scenes, like a fight with Thor when Blanchett surprises herself by accidentally striking either Hemsworth or his stunt double (it isn’t clear from the shot) across the face.

Pew pew pew!

You may be familiar with the story that, while filming lightsaber duels in the Star Wars prequels, Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Ewan McGregor was known to make lightsaber sounds during fight scenes with Ray Park, Christopher Lee, Hayden Christensen, or digitally rendered six-armed robots with persistent coughs.

Well, apparently, it’s not as uncommon as you’d think.

Along with Blanchett accidentally getting just a little too rough with her costars, the gag reel shows us a number of shots when Blanchett had to stop because she realized she was making comic-booky sound effects with her mouth as she pretended to use her character’s destructive magic on enemies.

Though obviously it required a little extra time, money, and effort every time filming had to pause for Blanchett’s pew-pews, two things should be remembered. First, Blanchett’s sound effects were indicative of her commitment to the character. Second, as absolutely any old school fan of the Walt Simonson run on the Thor comic could tell you, Simonson — the father of “KRAK-A-DOOM!” — would be proud.

I thought the Cosmic Treadmill was a DC thing?

They call them gag reels, but not everything is a gag or even a blooper. Sometimes, perfectly reasonable things just look funny.

For example, you can find on Thor: Ragnarok’s gag reel a series of shots of actors like Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth, and Tessa Thompson warming up between takes. They’re running in place or doing squats (and usually, for some reason, doing it flanked by intimidating looking guys). They’re not playing to the camera or making any funny mistakes. They’re just making sure they don’t pull a hammy when they pretend to be super people in a couple of minutes.

Still, they agreed to dress in funny outfits and play make-believe for money. They may not deserve your laughter simply for taking care of their physical needs, but they look funny doing warmups while dressed like Dungeons & Dragons characters in space, so you should laugh at them, and you should feel fine about it.

We all fall down

Perhaps it’s, again, the impact of Mjolnir’s destruction. Perhaps it’s the warring gravitational forces of Asgard, Sakaar, and Muspelheim (the fiery place where Thor’s a prisoner in the beginning of Thor: Ragnarok). Maybe it’s a side effect of the Revengers’ escape from Sakaar through the so-called “Devil’s Anus.” Or maybe director Taika Waititi took the bottomless mug of beer from the Doctor Strange scene and passed it around the cast and crew every day. But for whatever reason, judging by the gag reel, no one in the cast of Thor: Ragnarok was able to stay upright for more than a few seconds at a time.

What makes their various spills that much funnier is that it never seems like there’s anything in particular knocking them down. They don’t seem to be in the middle of complicated action sequences. They just fall down. A lot.

Though it should be said they’re all very handsome people, so even falling down inexplicably, they still look better than the rest of us.

Avenging bros

Much was made of the supposed “bromance” between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner in Avengers. So much was made of it, really, that it’s enough to make a lifelong Marvel Comics reader almost forget how many times the two have beaten the ever-living snot out of each other.

While Hemsworth and Ruffalo don’t have the same chemistry going as Iron Man and Hulk, they’ve got their own buddy feel in Thor: Ragnarok, though it’s definitely more Odd Couple. Almost two years before the film’s release, Mark Ruffalo likened the Thor/Hulk relationship in Ragnarok to the one between Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin in 1988’s Midnight Run.

Still, the two share some hilarious moments in the gag reel, messing up each others’ lines and sharing plenty of laughs. Though it’s probably not enough to make you forget how often they beat the ever-living snot out of each other. Especially since that’s one of the reasons you’re buying the Blu-ray in the first place.

Ears – Ears will always find a way

The Grandmaster of the comics isn’t a “villain you love you hate.” He’s just an arrogant dude in space who reacts to games like a junkie reacts to their drug of choice. He isn’t a particularly fun guy. Unless you consider the habitual kidnapping of superheroes to force them into death matches fun.

Which, okay, a lot of people do, because otherwise they wouldn’t read the comics.

Regardless, Jeff Goldblum’s realization of the character is one of the best reasons to see Ragnarok, and that makes it a little disappointing that he shows up in the gag reel so rarely. Still, when he does show up, he leaves an impression, most notably when he inexplicably demonstrates his true super power: the ability to move his ears independently of the rest of his head.

Don’t despair. While he isn’t on the gag reel that much, he is the much loved Darryl’s new roommate in the “Team Darryl” short included on the Blu-ray, which is almost worth the price of the disc all on its own.

Dancing fools

And, of course, there is the immutable and undeniable power of DANCE!

Most of the Marvel gag reels feature bits of the cast breaking into dance while filming, and the reel for Thor: Ragnarok is no exception.

Dance doesn’t come into superhero comics much. There was the supervillain Tapping Tommy who fought the Defenders with tap dance and dancing robots (not kidding), but he was, thankfully, an exception. Still, this tendency towards dance in Marvel’s gag reels brings up some interesting questions. If Bruce Banner dances as much as Mark Ruffalo would make it appear, why is he “always angry?” Shouldn’t the dance let off some steam? And why isn’t he headbanging or slamdancing rather than just bouncing around like a goof?

Is the dancing in the gag reels a sign of things to come? Is it possible it isn’t Thanos, but Tapping Tommy who’s the true Big Bad of the MCU? Is Thanos just a pawn? Is Tapping Tommy the man behind the man behind the man, etc.?

Or is the explanation simpler? Is Marvel Studios hinting towards a future creative choice? They’ve already proven they’re willing to expand into different filmmaking genres. Could Marvel Studios’ first musical be in the works? Thor dancing in a downpour, performing “Singin’ in the Rain?” The Incredible Hulk sitting in the ruins of another major city, sadly crooning, “It’s Not Easy Being Green?” Tony Stark crawling across the floor of his workshop to get his replacement Arc Reactor in his chest, belting out “You Gotta Have Heart?”

Only time will tell.