Thor was basically the "boring" Avenger for a long time. Let's be real. He was Shakespearean, a bit stiff, and stuck in movies that felt like they were perpetually drizzling gray rain. Then, the first teaser dropped in April 2017.
Everything changed.
The preview for Thor Ragnarok didn't just show a movie; it signaled a total lobotomy of the franchise's old, dusty personality. Led Zeppelin’s "Immigrant Song" screamed over the visuals while a neon-soaked, Jack Kirby-inspired world exploded onto the screen. It was loud. It was weird. It was exactly what we didn't know we needed.
The Preview for Thor Ragnarok That Broke the Internet
Marvel has a formula, but director Taika Waititi clearly didn't get the memo. Or he burned it. When that first preview for Thor Ragnarok hit, it racked up 136 million views in just 24 hours. That wasn't just a record for Marvel; it was a record for all of Disney at the time. People weren't just watching a trailer; they were witnessing the "un-boring-ing" of Chris Hemsworth.
The highlight? Obviously the "friend from work" line.
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Interestingly, that line wasn't even in the script. A Make-A-Wish kid visiting the set actually suggested it to Chris Hemsworth during filming. It’s one of those rare moments where the marketing team knew they had gold and built the entire crescendo of the teaser around it.
What the Trailers Hid (and What They Changed)
Trailers are notorious for lying to us, and the preview for Thor Ragnarok was a masterclass in misdirection. Remember the shot of Hela destroying Mjolnir in a dirty New York City alley? If you’ve seen the movie, you know that’s not where it happens.
In the final cut, that pivotal moment takes place on a grassy cliffside in Norway. Waititi eventually admitted they moved it because a trashy alleyway didn't feel like a "fitting enough death" for Odin. It felt too hurried. By moving it to the coast, they gave the scene a sense of mythic weight that the original "hobo Odin in Manhattan" vibe just couldn't touch.
Then there’s the "Eye Problem."
The big money shot in the trailers—Thor landing on the Rainbow Bridge with lightning pouring out of his eyes—showed him with two perfectly healthy eyes. In the actual film, Hela has already slashed his right eye out by that point. Marvel’s VFX team spent a ridiculous amount of time digitally adding an eye back into the trailer shots just to keep that plot point a secret.
The 80% Improv Rule
Waititi has famously claimed that about 80% of the film was improvised or ad-libbed.
Now, that’s a bit of hyperbole, but not by much. He’d sit behind the camera and just yell lines at the actors. "Say this! Now try it like you're annoyed!"
This approach is why the characters feel so different. Jeff Goldblum basically just played Jeff Goldblum, but in space. Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk finally got a personality beyond "angry green toddler." Even Cate Blanchett’s Hela, while terrifying, had a sort of rock-star swagger that felt less like a scripted villain and more like an unstoppable force of nature having a really great hair day.
Why the "Planet Hulk" Mix Worked
Before this movie, fans had been begging for a Planet Hulk adaptation for years. But a standalone Hulk movie was legally messy because of Universal Pictures' distribution rights.
The solution?
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Mash it into the Thor sequel. The preview for Thor Ragnarok leaned heavily into the Sakaar gladiatorial aesthetic because it promised something we hadn't seen: Thor stripped of his status. No hammer. Short hair. No cape. Just a guy trying to survive a bad Tuesday in a neon gladiator pit.
Actionable Takeaway: How to Re-Watch the Teasers
If you go back and watch that first preview for Thor Ragnarok today, look for the "seams" of the reshoots.
- Look at the lighting on Hela: In the alley scenes from the trailer, the light is orange and gritty.
- Check Thor’s face: During the bridge battle, you can see where they smoothed over the CGI eye patch area.
- Listen to the rhythm: The editing is synced almost perfectly to the drum beats of Led Zeppelin, a technique that would later define the "Waititi Style" in the MCU.
The film ended up grossing $855 million, proving that "weird and funny" beats "serious and gray" every single time. It wasn't just a preview; it was a promise that the MCU could still surprise us.
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Next time you're scrolling through Disney+, watch the "Special Features" section for the "Team Thor" mockumentary shorts. They were filmed during the production of Civil War and basically served as the secret "proof of concept" for the tone Waititi eventually brought to Ragnarok. It's the best way to see the exact moment the character of Thor finally found his voice.