Thor: The Dark World is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. I presume you have already seen the film so there is no point in rehashing its merits. So instead, I want to discuss the gem of this release; the audio commentary. It features Director Alan Taylor, Producer Kevin Feige, Actor Tom Hiddleston (Loki) and Cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau. If there are two people that the fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe love, they are Tom Hiddleston and Kevin Feige. Tom’s fantastic performance and great relationship with the fans have made Loki the most loved villain in the Marvel films. Kevin Feige is the Walt Disney of Marvel Studios. Guiding various creative individuals into creating a connected group of fantastic pictures.
One thing that their discussions made me realize is that Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier are essentially sequels to more than one film. The films are a sequel to their own franchise, but also to Marvel’s The Avengers. This is especially true for the Thor sequel as both Loki’s and Thor’s character arcs weave through all three films. This must be a daunting task as the challenge of spinning out of two different films requires more finesse than just being a follow-up to a linear franchise.
Iron Man 3 accomplished this by continuing his personal emotional journey from Iron Man 2 while showing the effect that the events of Marvel’s The Avengers had on Tony Stark. Thor: The Dark World takes a slightly different tactic. The relationship between Thor and Jane Foster continues from the first Thor film while Thor’s relationship with Loki continues from Marvel’s The Avengers. It will be interesting to see how Captain America: The Winter Soldier addresses this challenge though one would expect that part of the plot to address the situation of Cap being a man out of his own time due to his defrosting.
There were a lot of great tidbits from Kevin and Tom during the audio commentary. I hope that Marvel continues releasing audio commentaries combining Kevin Feige with a fan-favorite actor. For example, I would love to hear an audio commentary of The Avengers with Kevin Feige with Clark Gregg. (This makes my mind wander to the possibility of audio commentaries on an upcoming Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. DVD).
I thought I would share some of the fun facts shared during the audio commentary. I do not want to give them all away as I hope you will pick up the Blu-Ray, but here are some of my favorites:
- The prologue of the film was not originally part of the film, but test audiences felt it was needed. It was entirely CGI except for the three main characters.
- Bor’s helmet during the prologue was completely digital, as it had not been designed by the time it was filmed.
- The scene of Loki being judged by Odin was not originally part of the film. But after a tie-in comic book featured a version of the scene, Kevin Feige felt that it had to be part of the movie.
- The gratuitous shirtless scene in Thor was added after certain test audience complained about its absence.
- Odin references relics that predate the universe itself. He is refereeing the Infinity Stones, which are the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the Infinity Gems.
- Some of the long-shots of London were actually done by the Guardians of the Galaxy second unit.
- A few shots in the film have elements from three different continents.
- The never mention it, but the fiery world seen during “the convergence” is Hel; the underworld of the nine realms.
- There was originally going to be more damage to St. Paul’s Cathedral during the climax, but St Paul’s officials requested less damage to occur to respect St. Paul’s resilience during the World War II
- The kiss between Jane and Thor at the end of the credits was actually filmed in Hong Kong and was done between Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa who wore a Jane wig. .
If you have not read my review of the Marvel One-Shot, All Hail the King, check it out. While it does not really tie-in to Thor, it is a fun short that is a nice coda to Iron Man 3.
Now that Thor: The Dark World has been released, our collective attention can turn to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. With early buzz on that film being quite strong and internet reaction to the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer blowing past expectations, it appears the Marvel Universe has a lot to look forward to.
