Cate Blanchett Explains Marvel’s ‘Backwards’ Process of Making Movies

There’s no stopping the Goddess of Death, even if “Marvel aren’t necessarily used to having a whole script.” Cate Blanchett, who proved to be an admirable foil to Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder in one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most beloved big-screen entries, spoke about the strange process behind making Thor: Ragnarok (2017). But under the guidance of visionary director, Taika Waititi, the third Thor film went on to become not only a financial success, but a fan-favorite that even bedazzled critics.

Blanchett’s villainous Hela remains quite memorable, and she played an enormous part in the superhero flick’s success. However, the Oscar winner revealed that bringing the project to life involved quite the unorthodox process, which did not include a full screenplay. While promoting her new film, Borderlands, Blanchett said in an interview with GQ:

“You know, Marvel aren’t necessarily used to having a whole script,

so there wasn’t anything… You know, often, though, they will board the essential battles,
and then they’ll start working backwards and construct their stories.
It’s a whole, big, massive jigsaw puzzle, I don’t know.
What I didn’t realize then was [it was] the first time a female villain had been realized onscreen [for the MCU], so that was exciting.”

Blanchett continued:

“But I knew Taika [Waititi] was going to put his own particular spin on it,
and that Chris [Hemsworth] was so up for anything, incredibly generous and funny, and ready to kind of move this in another direction.
So, it felt like there was a really playful, exciting energy — fresh winds were moving through.
It was great,
it was really great.”

Cate Blanchett Jokes: ‘I Wasn’t Asked to Play Thor’

Cate Blanchett clearly portrayed one of the best and most powerful MCU villains since the inception of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But as the Oscar-winning performer jests in her interview with GQ, strangely enough, Blanchett was not asked to portray Thor, nor wield Mjöllnir — although Hela seemed giddy to destroy the God of Thunder’s precious hammer. Five years later, in Thor: Love and Thunder, Natalie Portman did get to play a version of the character, which Blanchett had her own thoughts on. Blanchett said during the same sit-down:

Related

Cate Blanchett’s 10 Best Movies, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes’ Audience Score

Discover Cate Blanchett’s most outstanding movies as viewed by the Rotten Tomatoes audience.

Blanchett’s good feeling about Chris Hemsworth paid off as Thor: Ragnarok became a hit with critics and fans alike. Taika Waititi’s first film in the MCU boasts the best CinemaScore (A) of all the Thor movies, and fans also gave the film an 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics were even more smitten with Ragnarok, which resulted in Thor 3 registering an impressive 93% on the Tomatometer.

So, how did Blanchett land the highly coveted role of the Goddess of Death? Well, the thespian did explain how the events unfolded in the same interview, and it turns out her admiration for Waititi’s work played a large part in winning the part of Hela. The Oscar winner said (below):

“Well, I’d seen Taika’s films and loved them.
I’d heard that it was happening, but I didn’t think anything of it.
And then I just got a call saying that Taika wanted to meet — and would I [be interested].
And I said,
‘Yeah, of course!’
And I didn’t know what he [wanted]. I just thought he wanted to say hello.
And then he asked would I be in it.”

Cate Blanchett won her first Oscar (Best Supporting Actress) for her work on The Aviator (2004), and then she took home the Best Actress Academy Award for Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine (2013) at the 2014 ceremony. In total, Blanchett has been nominated for eight Oscars.