SPOILER SPECULATION: Armies Of Surtur And Hela Fighting In THOR 2?

During the speculation of who will be the villains of Thor: The Dark World classic names such as Malekith, Sutur and Ulik The Rock Troll. Dark elves Malekith and Kurse/Algrim being the confirmed villains of the film, it had been originally assumed they would be it. Recent rumors point that the all the realms will be explored including the addition of Surtur and Hela. However, the title The Dark World seemingly gives the impression could feature more villainous creatures from other realms.

Over the summer/fall set photos of the film had been rolling out with images of Thor, Sif and Fandral fighting a group of marauders and creatures. Everyone had assumed these were dark elves. However, with the new look at Malekith's (Eccelson) face we have an idea of what the elves will look like. They look slightly more human than the creatures from set photos along with different costumes. So who are these creatures, Surtur's army, rock trolls or possibly the undead?

My belief is that they may end up being apart of Surtur's army. A report from a Russian site stated that all nine realms were going to be used in Dark World. Disney apparently showed a bunch of concept artwork for the film at Cinema Expo 2012. They had the eternal flame (a relic of Surtur's) in Odin's Vault which could be the next cosmic object of interest. ScreenRant also picked up on a casting-call that had Marvel looking for extras to fill the roles of "men of fire". The creatures look sort of orc-ish so it's not hard to imagine that this is Surtur's army that invades Asgard. Seeing an invasion on three fronts Asgard (Surtur), Midgard (Malekith) and Valhalla (Hela).

 Another possibility could be villainess Hela. Actress Alison Krige best known as Star Trek's Borg Queen had confirmed an unnamed role in the sequel. Many had assumed it would be the dark elf Queen but another option could be Hela. The villain wants to rule more than just the realm of Hel and invades Valhalla the realm of fallen heroes. She's originally the daughter of Loki but she might be changed to mother to fit the films better. If you look closely at Hela's army from recent comics they sort of look like the group of baddies facing off with Thor. There had been rumors that Fandral will be killed off and this aspect would give reason for the group to travel to Valhalla to perhaps bring him back. During this resurrection rescue Hela could be pushing for a full scale invasion of the realm.

Alice Krige Lands Role In THOR: THE DARK WORLD

South African actress Alice Krige (Chariots of Fire) best known for her performance as the Borg Queen in the Star Trek franchise has revealed during a Trek panel (via CBM) that she'll have a small part in Thor: The Dark World. The role is unknown but speculation has moved towards Alflyse the queen of the dark elves. My personal belief is that she could be making an appearance/cameo as Hela. It would be interesting to see Marvel introduce Hela as the real mother of Loki and explore that dynamic.

FAN ART: 'THOR 2' Banner Artwork Featuring Villains And Asgardians

CAST EM': New Asgardians Of 'THOR 2'

While Iron Man 3 is currently casting, we likely won't be hearing new additions for Thor 2 until around Comic-Con in July. Production is expected to begin in August with Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones) set to direct with a November 15th 2013 release date. The sequel will be mostly set in Asgard and other worlds with the cast of Asgardians being doubled according to Kevin Feige. I've come up with who should play these Asgardians, some of which are friends and some are foes.

BENICIO DEL TORO AS TYR GOD OF WAR: Currently we have no idea who the main baddie of the sequel will be. However, when the cast of Asgardians is going to be doubled it could mean a rebellion in the kingdom of Asgard. Tyr, who was once a protector of the realm (like Thor) eventually leads a rebellion to overthrow Odin as King. I wouldn't be shocked to see this transpire with aligning himself with the some of the other kingdoms in Asgard which includes the rock trolls (who inhabit the undergrounds of Asgard). Benicio Del Tor (Usual Suspects, Savages, Traffic) feels a no-brainer for this role as he could bring an intensity to his powerful god-like villain. He had been in the mix for the Khan role in Star Trek 2 but ultimately walked. It was a missed opportunity to see Benicio get to be a badass villain in a blockbuster. If there was ever an actor to one-up Tom Hiddleston's menacing Loki it would be Benicio.

RUTH WILSON AS HELA: Odin's kingdom doesn't stop with Asgard as he also rules over Vahalla the realm of fallen heroes. Hela the ruler of Hel also sets her eyes on increasing her rule by invading Vahalla with an army of her own to conture it. I'd love to see an alliance between Hela and Tyr because the battles would end up more interesting with the creatures of Hel fighting Asgardians. Ruth Wilson (Luther, The Prisoner, Lone Ranger) has been a revelation from her small time as Alice in the series Luther an up and coming actress who will get her big feature film debt as the female lead in Disney's The Lone Ranger. She very well could be as interesting villainous casting choice as Benedict Cumberbatch jump to Star Trek 2 as Khan.

RICHARD MADDEN AS BALDER THE BRAVE: Just as powerful and good willed as his brother Thor. It's eventually revealed that Balder is the true heir to Odin's throne. I'm not sure if this is continuity to the film's mythology but it could play out an interesting conflict between to the two heroes. One of the more standout actors of Game of Thrones is Richard Madden who play's Robb Stark. Alan Taylor could end up having some of his Thrones actors read for roles. Balder seems like a role that should be included since the studio did do early concept art for him. The character would later be cut from the film mainly because Asgard wasn't center stage in the first installment.

ALICE EVE AS AMORA THE ENCHANTRESS: Amora could be a conflicted villainess with eyes for both Thor and Loki, while aligning herself with Tyr's rebellion to obtain power. She's just as mischievous and manipulative as Loki and could be a solid secondary villain. There could even be a bit of jealously concerning Thor's affections towards the human Jane Foster.

British actress Alice Eve has been in the mix with Marvel projects for years now. She was originally cast as Emma Frost in X-Men First Class as for Fox but ultimately exited because the role was lacking any real depth. January Jones ended up taking the part and was the worst aspect of the film. Alice was also a candidate to play Peggy Carter in Captain America before Hayley Atwell landed the role. Her connection to the Cap casting could mean she might be inline to play Sharon Carter in Captain America 2. However, fans have campaigned for her to take on the role of Echantress. She recently landed a role in Star Trek 2 which is expected to be action focused and possibly even villainous.

JESSICA BIEL AS BRUNHILDE THE VALKYRIE: Valkyrie is a standout female character from Asgard as she eventually joined the Marvel team The Defenders. That lineup included her, Hulk, Doctor Strange, Namor, Silver Surfer, Hellcat and Nighthawk. Like Sif, Brunhilde is a great warrior who is the leader of the mighty Valkyrior who take exceptional fallen human/Asgardian heroes to Valhalla. They also defend that realm from outside forces like Hela. She has powers similar to the rest of Asgardian warriors but is known as the strongest of the Valkyrior and rides a winged horse.

The Valkyrior are warrior goddesses of Asgard who ride winged horses. Originally, under the leadership of Brunnhilde, they took mortally wounded human heroes from German and Scandinavian battlegrounds and brought them to Valhalla, an area of the Asgardian dimension where the astral forms of the dead Asgardians and human heroes eternally feast and compete in friendly battles.


Jessica Biel previously played the vampire slaying daughter of Whistler in Blade Trinity. While the film was terrible it did highlight the talents of both Biel and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool). It's not uncommon for actors to have multiple roles in superhero franchises. We'll finally be seeing Jessica back in action for Len Wiseman's Total Recall reboot. She had recently been in mix for both Man of Steel and The Dark Knight Rises but ultimately didn't join those movies. I feel like Biel could do the role justice and has the fitness level needed for the fight scenes.

CONAN STEVENS AS SKURGE OR ULIK: This Australian giant is surprisingly very steeped in the fantasy genre as an actor. He had a decently sized role on Game of Thrones as The Mountain the larger/elder/blood-crazed brother of The Hound. Conan had to leave to the show to focus on The Hobbit films where he plays a King of the orcs. While he regretfully missed out on a role in the new Conan film he did however have a reoccurring role on Spartacus: Blood And Sand. I think given this amount of experience not to mention a Game of Thrones connection he would make a decent Skurge or even Ulik the rock troll.

More Romance And Loki Won't Be The "Big" Baddie In 'THOR 2'

While Loki will indeed figure into Thor 2 but Marvel's Kevin Feige tells Collider that the mischievous Asgardian will take as break as a main villain. It makes perfect sense considering that he's had enough of a villainous workload in both Thor and Avengers. It was previously announced that the cast of Asgardians would be doubled and that the sequel would explore the realms. This leads me to believe that the villain indeed won't be another citizen of Asgard. Which would exclude Amora The Enchantress and Skurge The Executioner.

"Loki has a part, but there will be a different villain, another big villain. But you can’t do a Thor movie without Loki."

Kevin also mentions that Odin (Hopkins) and Jane (Portman) will factor more in this film. Stating that Jane and Thor's romance in the first film is more of crush. The sequel will develop that relationship and we could actually see them actually making love connection.Thor has developed a large amount of female fans thanks to Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, so it's not odd to see the romance levels amped up for the sequel.

"So while the relationship between Loki and Thor certainly has changed and has progressed, a lot of Thor 2 is picking up where it left off in terms of Jane, who you just saw for a moment on a computer monitor, and also what’s been going on in the nine realms without the Asgardians being able to use the Bifrost? I will just say it’s not good."


"Well it’s sort of the crux of the whole sequel and it’s what Hemsworth is most excited about diving into, and it’s what is the heart of story; it’s Thor and Jane, to continue that dynamic. Really they were only together for three days, and do they love each other? Do they like each other? Do they know each other? We’re acknowledging that that love story in the first movie was sort of a quick crush, essentially, over the course of three quick days in the middle of the desert. And [the heart of the movie is also] the relationship between Thor and Odin, which does change drastically as it did over the course of the first movie, and picks up and continues from there."


POSSIBLE VILLAINS FOR THOR 2

HELA GODDESS OF DEATH: Hela has been often pegged as Loki's daughter but things will likely change for the films. She is the ruler of the realms Hel and Nifflehiem wanting to expand her kingdom to include Valhalla the realm of dead heroes ruled by Odin. Her lust for power included a full scale attack on Asgard with her army of the dead. This seems like a great setup for second film which in terms of comic book franchises are usually the darkest films. With the Bifrost destroyed there isn't much holding Hela back from invading and conquering Valhalla.

Appointed Ruler and Goddess of the northernmost kingdom of the dead, allowing her to rule in the realms of Hel and Niffleheim. Although her dominion was only over those who did not die as heroes, as Odin was the ruler of these in Valhalla. Still, Hela often sought to expand her kingdom by conquering Valhalla as well which often brought Hela into direct conflict with both Odin and his son Thor.


Hela patiently waited for the chance to take over Valhalla and even forced her minions to build the enormous ship, Naflgar, out of the finger nails of the dead in order to attack Asgard, however this ship was destroyed by Skurge the Exocutioner and Hela was forced to begin reconstruction of the ship.

SURTUR: The fire demon is one of the oldest beings in the Norse cosmic universe and has a rather large beef with Odin and his brothers. It would be somewhat similar to the aged tension with the Frost Giants. Like Hela, Surtur could end up wreaking havoc on the other realms while the Bifrost is damaged. He previously made an alliance with the trolls which could come into play here. There was a looming threat that when the peace between Asgard and Jotunheim was broken it could lead to other conflicts.

"Surtur is a fire demon native to the extradimensional plane of Muspelheim land of the fire demons, located on the continent of Asgard, and first appears in the title Journey Into Mystery.[3] The character's first encounter with the Asgardian ruler Odin is told in flashback and establishes their enmity when Surtur is imprisoned by Odin inside the Earth after forming an alliance with the Trolls and trying to destroy the world, although he gives Odin a winged horse, hoping to be released one day.[4] Surtur reappears in the title Journey Into Mystery, having been freed by Odin's adopted son, Loki, who intends to usurp Odin and rule Asgard, having been given a portion of the Odinforce."

ULIK THE ROCK TROLL: Ulik is one of the few villains that has given Thor a run for his money during battles. He's been previously tasked by the troll king Geirrodur to steal Thor's hammer and to kidnap Jane Foster. The trolls could end up the orcs of the Thor franchise depending on the direction of the film. While in the comics they're slightly larger in the recent tie-in video game for the film they're even larger than the Frost Giants. There could be an alliance between Surtur and the Trolls leading to a full scale war on the realms and Asgard.

"Ulik belongs to a race of Rock Trolls who live in the dimension of Asgard in the "Domain of Trolls" in Nornheim. Like all trolls, Ulik has an innate hatred of the Asgardians as they were driven underground by the King of the Norse gods, Odin, and forbidden to live on the surface. Ulik is commanded by the Rock Troll King, Geirrodur, to steal Thor's enchanted hammer, Mjolnir, before an attempt to invade Asgard, leading to an extended series of battles with the Thunder God. Ulik proves to be a match for Thor, as the character possessing increasing strength and is equipped with knuckle dusters made of the metal uru (the same metal Mjolnir is composed of)."