‘Thor 3’ Official Title and Release Date Announced

Marvel Studios announced today during a live fan event in Los Angeles its Phase 3 plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a big part of which was concerning the third and final Thor installment. Two key pieces of information were revealed by executive producer Kevin Feige, the official title Thor: Ragnarok and its July 28th, 2017 release date. 

As of now, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are both set to return to their roles as Thor and Loki, respectively, with the rest of the cast still unknown. Also to be determined is the film’s director. We do know, however, that Christopher Yost (Thor: The Dark World) has signed on to pen the script along with Thor producer Craig Kyle.

‘Ragnarok’ points to a major event in Thor mythology: the Norse apocalypse. From the ending of the previous film, Thor: The Dark World, we saw Loki sitting on the throne of Asgard, disguised as Odin, and seemingly plotting his next rise to power. This could very well have been a foreshadowing of Asgard’s impending destruction during Ragnarok. With this Norse end of days also comes the implications of the end of Thor and Loki within the MCU, assuming there will be a final and fatal head-to-head between the two estranged brothers in the film.

Also announced today was a two-parter Avengers 3, the first slated for 2019, titled Avengers: Infinity Wars. This will most likely deal with the Marvel Civil War, in which Thor (in his true form) and Loki are absent. If in fact their fates are doomed for the end of Thor: Ragnarok, this will open doors for Marvel’s change in focus to new superheroes like Dr. Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, or Black Panther – all of which are a part of the Phase 3 slate.