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As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.


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     Pre-Release Theories 

The Grandmaster and The Collector are members of the same species in the MCU.
They share similar makeup and distinct facial markings (though The Grandmaster's are more colorful than Tivan's).
  • Not that big of a stretch, considering they're brothers in the comics... I think.
    • Brothers in antiquity. They share the same condition of being immortal and having outlived their races. They're not genetically family, or even really close when they aren't scheming together... in the comics, anyway.
    • Confirmed. At Comic Con, Jeff Goldblum admitted that he and the Collector were not only of the same race but also brothers.

Either Amora, Balder, Sigyn or all three are thought to be dead...
...which is why no one mentions them, but they come back for some specific reason. Perhaps they accidentally touched the Time Gem and were sent forward.
  • Jossed.

Alternatively, they're still alive without the use of time travel...
...and they haven't been mentioned for other reasons, i.e. they're all living on earth. Amora could have been banished (and is now The Dragon for Surtur) while Balder and Sigyn are living on Earth through a choice of their own (for reasons that will later be explained).
  • Jossed.

Thanos invades Asgard. And wins.
Then he can get both the Space Gem and the Infinity Gauntlet.
  • Per The Stinger of Age of Ultron, he already has the gauntlet.
    • Feige revealed that two Infinity Gauntlets exist in the MCU. The one that Thanos has is a different one than the one in Odin's Vault. In which case, he could invade it and claim the second one, and potentially any gems that are present.
      • The "second Infinity Gauntlet" is likely just an Easter Egg, much like Cap's shield being in Stark's lab in the first Iron Man movie or Star Wars droids appearing in the background of Indiana Jones. Nothing will ever come of it.
      • In the movie, Hela identifies the gauntlet in Asgard as a fake.
      • Jossed in that Thanos doesn't invade Asgard, but his ship shows up in the Mid-Credits scene as a teaser for Infinity War.

Ragnarok will come to pass in the first act
The rest of the movie is Jane and her team searching for the lost Asgardians, which will all be Other Darrins to truly shake things up.
  • Jossed; Jane doesn't appear at all, a majority of the film takes place off-world, and Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, and Anthony Hopkins all resume their respective roles.

There will finally be an explanation about the events between Thor and The Avengers
There's a popular theory about Loki being partially controlled or manipulated by Thanos, explaining his massive personality shift between him in the Thor Movies (where he is an tricky anti-hero) and The Avengers (where he is a genocidal, terrorist maniac with no moral compass to speak of). Considering the 'freedom is an illusion' belief he holds in The Avengers, which is pretty contradictory to his normal personality (i.e the God of Mischief, and holds freedom in pretty high regard) this may be quite plausible...
  • It will also involve Thanos looking for Loki to punish him for his failure (as is threatened to him in The Avengers)
    • Jossed

Loki will be Young Loki by the end of the film
After Ragnarok comes to pass he will die and be reincarnated in his younger form, and try to do good.
  • Jossed insofar as Tom Hiddleston plays the character in Avengers: Infinity War. Perhaps once that happens, you could get Kid Loki.
  • Since Kid Loki did encounter ghosts of Old Loki and dealt with his consciousness through the raven Ikol, Hiddleston could also appear in that capacity.
    • Jossed.

Thor will permanently die by the end of the movie
Resulting in whichever lady is wielding the hammer in the comics to become the new Thor for the MCU.
  • How about dead, but not permanently? Like, a lightning bolt will save someone from Thanos, implying that he's still helping the heroes from beyond the void?
  • Alternatively, he could die and then be resurrected in Avengers: Infinity War Part II.
    • He's already signed on to appear in at least the second half of that film. So in any case, he is not going to permanently die. Jossed.
      • Jossed: Thor survives.
What if Ragnarok for Thor 3 isn't referencing the fall of Asgard
What if it's referencing the clone of Thor created during Civil War called Ragnarok?
  • Jossed. Kevin Feige has said it's "the end of everything" and Avengers: Age of Ultron hints at an apocalyptic event hitting Asgard.
    • Jossed. Thor doesn't die.

The main villain will be Surtur
It's the Ragnarok. It can't be anyone else. It would be like making an adaption of the Trojan War without a wooden horse.
  • Actually, both in Norse mythology and in Thor comics, the Ragnarök is not caused by Surtur, and he only plays a minor part in it. But given that the movies tend to use the most iconic villains from the comics, yeah, it still seems likely this will be an Adaptation Distillation where is Surtur the main villain.
  • In myth, Surtur does not cause the Ragnarok, but he's the one who completes it, covering the world with fire and making everything burn. Translated into film narrative ways, he would be the villain in a film where The Bad Guy Wins. In comics, Surtur is the main villain of The Surtur Saga which is even named after him.
  • Surtur appearing at all has yet to be verified, but it seems as though Hela is going to fill the role of antagonist.
  • Looks like Surtur will appear also.
    • Jossed: Surtur is an antagonist but not the main one: that's Hela.

Loki's children: Fenris, the Midgard Serpent and Hela appear
Considering the Norse myths concerning Ragnarok, with Fenris killing Odin and the Midgard Serpent killing Thor - they would probably feature in some capacity. Either as secondary villains or brief cameos. Although considering Loki's popularity, they may be featured quite a lot.
  • Confirmed for Hela. Whether or not she's Loki's daughter has yet to be seen. Jossed on her being Loki's daughter, she's Thor and Loki's long lost sister, making her a Composite Character with Angela.
  • Also confirmed for Fenris. Again, no word on whether or not he's a child of Loki.
    • Fenris and Hela appear, but neither are the children of Loki.

Surtur will be unleashed on Asgard by Thanos
Based on what happens Avengers: Age of Ultron, this seems quite likely: Thor has a vision of dead Asgardians in Hel, interjected with visions of the Infinity Stones. At first, these two visions seem to be unrelated, with the latter foreshadowing Avengers: Infinity War. But if Surtur is the Big Bad of this movie, it quite possible he will wield one of the two Infinity Stones that haven't yet appeared. Either Thanos gave the Stone to him, or he acquired it himself, but Thanos will come to claim it once he's defeated.
  • Looks like Surtur will be unleashed, but it's uncertain who lets him loose. Most likely Hela.
    • Jossed: Surtur is unleashed on Asgard in the climax by Thor and Loki to kill Hela.

We will learn more about Thanos' backstory in the film.
Probably jossed as Thanos is not set to appear, at least in the main part of the movie. The Stinger could be a different matter.
  • Jossed, we don't learn anything about Thanos's backstory. His ship does show up during the Mid-Credits scene, though.

The real Odin will appear in an extended cameo early on in the movie and have a Dying Moment of Awesome
At which point Thor will be named King and will lead Asgard to victory in Ragnarok. It would make sense considering that Anthony Hopkins has stated that he's getting a little old to be in this kind of movie.
  • Confirmed. Not a Dying Moment of Awesome, but Odin dies of old age at the beginning of the film, and Thor is made King at the end.]

Heimdall will survive, but will be blinded like in Thor's vision from Age of Ultron.
  • Jossed: He does survive, but he isn't blind.

Thor will offer his hammer for the presidential elections
So, Thor is not interested in ruling Asgard (and probably neither a human country), but he does have a magic hammer that may only be lifted by those worthy to rule. So, why bother with presidential debates and campaigns? Let's just place Thor and all the candidates on TV, and ask them to lift the hammer. A good candidate that deserves to rule a country should be able to lift it! But probably none will be able to do that. Of course, this has nothing to do with a Ragnarok, but it can be used for the Easing into the Adventure segment before the adventure itself.
  • I highly doubt being worthy of Mjolnir has anything to do with being a good president.
    • Hard to say. Thor's ability to lift the hammer seemed to be a benchmark of whether he would be a worthy ruler of Asgard, but even that isn't clear; Odin never uses it even though it would be a considerable asset. Maybe the cruel necessities of being a ruler make one unworthy. And of course Asgardians probably have different priorities for good rulers than modern Americans.
  • Jossed, since he's barely on earth, and the other Avengers haven't heard from him in Civil War.

Lorelei will play some sort of role in the film.
After all, Odin-disguised Loki had to have ordered her captured alive for a reason...
  • Possibly jossed as she hasn't been confirmed to appear, but she may get a cameo.
    • Jossed.

Angela will make her MCU debut in this film.
It could happen, since she was eventually revealed to be the (long-lost, illegitimate) half-sister of Thor. Perhaps Ragnarok involves the angels of Heven in some way? It doesn't seem like she'll be appearing in Guardian of The Galaxy 2 at this rate, but she could show up here first and jump over into the inevitable GOTG 3.
  • Confirmed, sort of? Hela is apparently taking Angela's place as the long-lost sister of Thor.

Loki will begin to pull a Heel–Face Turn.
Asgard's destruction will give him a My God, What Have I Done? moment (especially if it's caused by Thanos) and he'll form an Enemy Mine with Thor. This could set up a similar alliance in Avengers: Infinity War.
  • Alternate Theory: Following the Siege storyline, Loki will redeem himself by dying in order to give other Asgardians a second chance to win.
  • The Stinger of Doctor Strange (2016) reveals that Thor is knowingly working with Loki in order to find Odin. Whether or not this means he's pulling a Heel–Face Turn or seeking out Odin for his own motives has yet to be seen, though he is seen fighting alongside Thor in the second trailer.]
    • Confirmed? He at least seems to be on good terms with Thor again.

Thor will become King of Asgard in the end of the movie.
  • Confirmed, in the end he sits on the throne of the spaceship housing the evacuated population of Asgard being called their King.

We will see a previous version of Asgard
Ragnarok will be revealed as a repeating cycle, similar to the way it happens in the comics, and we will see a flashback to a previous Ragnarok, featuring characters closer to their mythological versions (such as redhead Thor).
  • Jossed

Jane will lift Mjolnir at some point.
Not only would it further discredit Odin's opinion of her, but she IS the hammer's current holder in the comics.
  • Jossed, as it's been confirmed Portman does not reprise her role.

Alternatively, Jane will die towards the beginning of the film.
It's been rumored that Portman doesn't want to return for further films, not to mention that her romance with Thor hasn't been the most popular. So in the first act of the movie, she could be killed off (alongside Darcy and maybe Erik). This will not only cut off some of Thor's ties to Earth, but it will also raise the stakes of the movie if she's killed by Surtur (or Amora if she's in this movie).
  • Jane could die from cancer - that Thor has unintentionally caused somehow.
  • The above scenario is unlikely if only because Marvel probably wants to avoid allegations of Stuffed into the Fridge. The story taking place in space is already explanation enough for why her presence is minimized this time.
  • Probably Jossed: It has been confirmed Portman will not return as Jane, and it's unlikely she would be killed offscreen.
    • Definitely Jossed.

Or Jane and Thor break up off-screen.
It's revealed in Captain America: Civil War that Tony and Pepper broke up off-screen, so it's not like they can't do it.
  • Confirmed.

Magic-related superheroes like Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, and Black Panther (or non-magic superheroes in the setting) will play roles in the movie to defend Midgard/Earth.
Given the Wham Episode nature of the movie and the greater size of the threat, they can't just say that Superman Stays Out of Gotham, and this would probably be a good opportunity to utilize some of the newer characters in extended supporting roles before Avengers: Infinity War.
  • Doctor Strange has been confirmed to appear, though there's no word on Scarlet Witch or Black Panther.
  • Personally I have some doubts; while we can expect some cataclysmic stuff, we know Earth will barely be in the film, which makes me think the threat to Earth will be largely incidental to the cosmic hullaballoo. Indeed, the puny humans might not even know what's happening.
    • Doctor Strange plays a small role, but the other two aren't in the film.

Thor will unintentionally (or be manipulated to) cause Ragnarok
In the vision Scarlet Witch shows him in Age Of Ultron, Heimdall mentions Thor was the one who killed them all.
  • Actually confirmed as Thor and Loki willingly unleash Surtur to cause Ragnarok to kill Hela.

The film will finally see the debut of Enchantress and/or Valkyrie
They're both very popular characters from the Thor mythos, and Valkyrie is a well known Avenger and Defender from the comics. Given that both characters WERE slated to appear in prior movies (Enchantress in the first Thor and Valkyrie in The Dark World), this could end up being a case of Saved for the Sequel.
  • Valkyrie in particular seems likely since the MCU seems to be working towards addressing complaints about the lack of female and minority superheroes in the franchise.
    • Confirmed for Valkyrie.

Hela and Thor will not have a romantic relationship if she is Loki's daughter
Because, even if Loki's adopted, it would still be gross.
  • Considering that Hela is actually Thor's long-lost sister instead of Loki's daughter, yep, no romance whatsoever.

Leah from Journey into Mystery will make a cameo
Since it was revealed that Leah grew up to become Hela, then she'll appear in that sense. Whether or not we actually see her as Leah (when she was younger) remains to be seen. It could give her a good backstory, with some adjustments, of course.
  • Jossed.

Another possible cameo: Verity Willis from Loki: Agent of Asgard
Jossed.

Hela, Fenrir and Jormungandr (The Midgard Serpent) were once regular Asgardians
They were cursed by someone to their forms, became too dangerous and were banished by Odin.
  • Hela is Odin's daughter, Fenrir was her pet and Jormungandr doesn't appear at all.

Karnilla will tell Loki of Ragnarok like in Thor and Loki: Blood Brothers
This will either lead to a temporary Heel–Face Turn or trying to condemn Thor to his fate.
  • Jossed.

Building on the above, the opening scene will be a young Loki sneaking out of the palace after a fight with young Thor; he then stumbles into Nornheim and encounters Karnilla
This will enable us to see the start of the jealousy he feels for his brother, and reveal how he managed to find the portals between realms Heimdall never knew about.
  • Jossed.

The film will end with Loki chained to a rock, acid dripping in his eyes with or without Sigyn
It will be a transition to Thanos freeing him for Infinity Wars.
  • Alternatively this will happen to him during the film and he will be rescued by someone else (like Thor) in time for the third act.
    • Jossed

Loki will leave by himself to either find Thanos, run away, or try and start a new life
The last two will still result in Thanos finding him anyway.
  • Jossed

Heimdall will take the place of Balder
In the original story the death of Balder was the catalyst, and as Balder does not seem to exist in the MCU (at least not yet) Heimdall will die instead, but may possibly be revived at the end.
  • Jossed.

Valhalla and/or Hel will appear
Dead characters like Frigga and Quicksilver would make cameo appearances there.
  • It's been confirmed that Hel will appear, at least in come capacity.
    • Unless the chamber under the weapon's vault is Hel, then Jossed.

Quicksilver is in Valhalla, and he will team up with Thor
Granted Pietro is an unusual choice for an ally to Thor... But he did die a warrior's death in Age of Ultron. Not to mention some of the Mind Stone's power is literally within his body.
  • Jossed

Most or all of the movie will take place in Asgard and realms other than Midgard.
Earth and the humans will play little to no part in the plot.
  • Confirmed. Only Brief scenes at the beginning are set on Earth (New York and Norway, specifically), the rest takes place on Asgard and on Sakaar.

Odin won't be happy to see Thor when he rescues him.
Because he still doesn't forgive him for leaving Asgard and taking Loki with him in The Dark World. Odin is aware of Ragnarok, but after his wife's death he doesn't care about anything anymore. And only Thor will snap him out of it by Calling the Old Man Out and giving him a "Reason You Suck" Speech.
  • Jossed: He is happy to see Thor and Loki, gives them a heartfelt talk and then he dies of old age.

We will get some sort of Call-Back to the "Puny god" scene from The Avengers.
Loki will not be pleased to see the big guy again.
  • Confirmed on both parts. Loki is scared for his life when he first sees Hulk, but then cheers when Thor is on the receiving end of a Metronomic Man Mashing.

The bad guys will seek to utilize or control the Hulk in some capacity.
Possibly to use him as a breaker of world...
  • Jossed

The movie will incorporate some elements of "Planet Hulk"
The Grandmaster will be the one keeping Thor and Hulk as gladiators, combining elements of both The Red King and The Beyonder, bringing some Secret Wars elements into the cosmic mix.
  • Confirmed. The Planet Hulk armor was shown off at San Diego Comic-Con.

The Asgardians will love Hulk
Kind of like they did in Avengers Assemble and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.. They'll value him as a warrior, cheer whenever he smashes an enemy and fight him for kicks (and won't even care if they lose to him). Hulk will be pleasantly surprised by the positive reception, especially after what happened in Avengers: Age of Ultron. In short, Hulk will finally find a place where everyone accepts him.
  • If the trailers are any indication, Hulk seems to have plenty of fans on Sakaar, so possibly sort-of confirmed.
    • Definitely confirmed.

Thor and Hulk will be the first of the Avengers to confront Thanos
Given that this is supposed to be a lead in to Avengers: Infinity War, why not? And they will get their asses kicked.
  • Confirmed, although it happens at the beginning of Infinity War. The first Stinger of Ragnarok only shows Thanos's ship approaching the Statesman.
    • Thanos will use the Space Stone to exile them to a distant part of the galaxy, and their escape/rescue will be a subplot in Infinity War Part 1.
      • Jossed.

The Hulk will be the first one to figure out Loki is posing as Odin
In the first Avengers movie, there is a mention on commentary that Joss Whedon originally wrote the Hulk/Loki fight as a longer scene. It would have involved Loki trying to confuse the Hulk with clones, only for the Hulk to win by smelling his out of the crowd. This was supposed to be foreshadowed by Banner noting at certain points in the movie that "you can smell the crazy" off Loki. Not to mention that both Avengers' movies have had Banner be the first to figure or realize some unknown part of somebody's agenda (SHIELD using the Tessaract for weapons and not clean energy solutions, Ultron planning to use Helen Cho to make a perfect humanoid body for him). However the Hulk/Bruce Banner is set to appear in Ragnarok, he will be the driving force in the discovery that Loki is alive. As a bonus, if the plot is to have the rest of Asgard initially be hostile or distrusting of Thor's ally, having Banner realize the deception through the Hulk attacking "Odin" would probably be the easy path to initial drama.
  • Jossed. It's Thor who figures it out.

Loki will appear to ally with the villain... and betray him very quickly.
What Loki wants, more than anything, is to be King of Asgard. He's not going to help anyone destroy it. Odin or Thor would (and probably will) confront them head-on, but Loki's natural response is deception. And it will then give him a pretext to seize the throne of Asgard (for however much longer it exists). For that matter, he'd probably be better at running the defense of Asgard than Thor would.
  • From what we've seen in the trailers, Loki at first seems to be working with the Grandmaster, but then Thor and the others find him chained up. So the "allying with the villain and betraying him" part could be confirmed. As for running the defense of Asgard better than Thor part...well, he's apparently the one who accidentally unleashes Hela due to "lax leadership", so...
    • It's complicated. Loki works to get himself into the Grandmaster's good graces, only for Thor's escape to cause him to lose favour with the Grandmaster, leading him to help Thor...only he attempts to betray Thor in order to get back into the Grandmaster's favour. Thor, however, sees the betrayal coming a mile away and one-ups him. In the end, Loki leaves to help Thor.

Sif will survive.
She's the most popular and visible of the Asgardians after Odin, Thor, Loki, Frigga, and Heimdall, and knows enough about Earth that she'd have a decent chance of hiding out there. She'll pop up again in Infinity Wars Part II.
  • Confirmed. She's apparently in exile from Asgard, so escaped Hela's slaughter.

The role Cate Blanchett will play...
  • A Norn, to speak about Ragnarok.
  • Loki's mother, current Queen of Jotunheim, Farbauti.
  • As a Casting Gag, perhaps the Queen of elves.
  • Unlikely, but Hela, Queen of Hel.
  • Valkyrie.
  • Amora the Enchantress.

Odin's Vault
By the end of the movie it will be breached. Getting some of the most dangerous weapons and artifacts out into world which will cause havoc in upcoming movies.
  • The status of the weapon's vault is uncertain, since Surtur destroyed Asgard. Loki managed to take the Tesseract, and Hela proclaimed that most of the treasures in the vault were fake anyway...

Jane and the other humans will be Demoted to Extra
The story is mostly taking place away from Earth, and Natalie Portman was allegedly very unhappy with the way The Dark World went down (She even tried to back out of her contract when the first director was fired). It's possible Jane, Darcy, and Selvig will have glorified cameos this time around.
  • Supported by statements that at least ninety percent of the movie is off-Earth and that Natalie Portman will not return as Jane.

The movie will include Richard Wagner's music.
Regardless of how you feel about Wagner's anti-Semitic sentiments, his music would be fitting for Thor: Ragnarok. After all, Wagner's Ring Cycle AND the movie are both loosely based off of Norse Mythology.
  • Jossed

Heimdall is the carrier of the Soul Stone.
Notice the orange gem in his chest right next to the sword. The colors of the Infinity Gems are different compared to their MCU counterparts, and the otherwise-green Soul Stone would help explain how Heimdall can see ten trillion souls, as he himself said in The Dark World. That said, the film's stinger has Volstagg mention it would be a bad idea to keep Infinity Stones together, but either a select few are aware that Heimdall carries one of them, which Sif and the Warriors Three are not amongst, or they make an exception for the Soul Stone, as Heimdall requires it to some degree to operate the Bifrost.
  • This does fit with the theory that each title of the stones spell out "THANOS". 'H' is the only letter left...
    • Fully Jossed. The Stone does not appear, as it is on Vormir.

Ragnarok will be the Winter Soldier of Phase 3
Much like how Captain America: The Winter Soldier led into Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor: Ragnarok will be the most important film to the plot of Avengers: Infinity War.
  • Confirmed by Word of God. During production this movie was compared to Winter Soldier and was a lead-in to Infinity War.

The Avengers won't be able to help
Because there will be no more Avengers after the events of Captain America: Civil War.
  • Confirmed. The Avengers disbanded after Civil War.

If Hela appears she will be a Composite Character
With Death. It might be redundant to have two female embodiments of death, so Hela could end up as the one Thanos is obsessed with in Infinity War.
  • Jossed.

Hulk will become smarter
His final scene in Age of Ultron was uncharacteristically calm and human. Banner's mind could be exerting more control, or the Hulk himself could be evolving.
  • Probably confirmed, as he's seen carrying out a rather insightful conversation with Thor.

Nick Fury will be the one to inform Thor that the Avengers have disbanded
Jossed.

Loki didn't actually fake his death, he was resurrected by Hela
If the rumours about Hela being the Big Bad in Ragnarok are true, that is. In the comics, Loki has a deal with Hela wherein she has removed his name from the Book of Hel, meaning that he can't actually die and stay dead. So he may have actually died for real, but then been resurrected by Hela. This could perhaps have been hinted at in his dying line to Kurse in The Dark World ("See you in Hel, monster!") He is, of course, not referring to the Christian Hell but Hela's realm of Hel, the realm of the dead.
  • Furthermore, he made some kind of deal with her, possibly promising her to help her in one of her evil schemes. When he realises that her next plan is to bring Ragnarok over Asgard, he backs out and reveals himself to Thor, leading to the both of them to look after Odin and asking Doctor Strange for help.
  • Jossed.

After Thanos steals The Infinity Gauntlet,
Thor will try to summon The Avengers, only to learn that they have split up, So Thor begins to look for some alternative, Backup in order to prevent Thanos from starting the Apocalypse.
  • Jossed.

Thor will find out about the Civil War at the end of the movie
Upon arriving at Earth, he'll find out about the Accords, the disbandment of the Avengers and he'll not take it very lightly. And like Nova, he'll call out on one of the members (maybe Tony) by asking "What have you done?"
  • Alternatively, there will be no calling out. Thor will arrive at Avengers HQ and find Vision. The conversation will go like this:
    Thor: I have news. I need to speak with the Avengers.
    Vision: Yes... the Avengers... about that...
    Smash Cut to credits
    • Jossed.

The Soul Stone will be introduced in this movie.
It will be the last Infinity Stone introduced in the lead up to Avengers: Infinity War (The Time Stone being introduced in Doctor Strange (2016)) and will be in the possession of Hela who uses it to convey the souls of the dead to Hel. It will be green (to match's Hela's whole green and black aesthetic) and could perhaps be embedded in the hilt of her weapon, her 'Nightsword'. She will use the power of the stone to destroy Mjölnir.
  • The part about the Time Stone being introduced in Doctor Strange (2016) is confirmed. However it's the TIME Stone that is green while the Soul Stone is Orange. As for the Soul Stone appearing in this movie, while likely, nothing is confirmed. Neither is the person who's using it.
    • Jossed

The identity of Tessa Thompson's character...
...who is said to be some kind of a superhero:
  • Valkyrie
    • Confirmed.
  • Monica Rambeau
  • The Enchantress (with a bit of Adaptational Heroism)
  • A newly created character
  • She-Hulk. She's more lawyer than superhero and likely to appear in multiple movies. Plus, where better to introduce her than a movie co-starring Hulk?
  • Carol Danvers

Jane will appear…
…in the Tag Scene, albeit fake Shemped. It will play out as follows:
  • Mjölnir is on the ground.
  • A woman's hand picks it up.
  • That cool effect from the first movie happens, and the woman who picked up the Hammer is wearing Asgardian armor. We do not see her face.
    • Jossed. She doesn't appear at all.

At some point in the movie, Banner will Hulk out, and Thor will try to calm him down using The Lullaby...
...and it will be so hilariously awkward!
  • Confirmed!

The movie will start with Thor imprisoned, stranded, or somehow otherwise preoccupied.
In Captain America: Civil War, it's revealed that The other Avengers haven't seen or heard from Thor since the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, even though he promised to come back with information on the Infinity Stones. That's an awfully long time to be gone]]. Loki or some other force could be keeping him on Asgard so he can't alert the others about what's coming.
  • Confirmed, but not in the way you think. He's let himself get captured by Surtur in order to get close enough to kill him.

The reason Jane won't appear is...
...She got sick of waiting. Ragnarok happens alongside Civil War (released in 2016), so given the two-year gap between Thor and The Dark World, along with another potential gap between then and Age of Ultron (Thor notes Jane's scientific achievements early on, but winning a Nobel Prize would be a major event that he may have heard about by proxy), on top of returning to Asgard at the end of that film, that would be up to five years of no contact between the two. She may have gotten fed up with being jerked around and decided to finally move on with her life.
  • Confirmed-ish. Jane doesn't appear as she and Thor have broken up.

Valkyrie will start as an antagonist before switching sides.
If Hela, who lords over the dead, is the primary antagonist then it makes perfect sense for both Skurge, "The Executioner," and Valkyrie, "The Chooser of the Slain," to do her bidding. At least at first.
  • Unless you're familiar with either Norse Mythology or Marvel mythology, where the Valkyries were servants of Odin in the former, and was granted power by Odin in the latter. In which case it makes no damn sense whatsoever unless they're changing the character's history just because.
    • Which wouldn't be the first time the MCU did that.
  • Confirmed, just not in the exact way the original poster speculated. She's introduced working for the Grandmaster, rather than Hela.

The rumour about Valkyrie being a love interest is true...
...only she won't be Thor's. The audience have had enough of Thor's love life. Instead she'll be Loki's (which could be part of the reason he makes a Heel–Face Turn).
  • Judging by the recent picture of Loki and Valkyrie fighting, along with Tessa Thompson's comments to go with it, this might actually happen in some capacity.
    • Jossed for the most part, though their fight had enough subtext so that it wouldn't be completely out there if the hook-up happened in a future film.

If the above turns out to be true...
...then she'll be a Composite Character of Valkyrie and Sigyn.
  • Jossed.

Alternatively, Valkyrie won't be anyone's love interest.
So we can have a female superhero who doesn't need a man in her life.
  • Confirmed.

Hela won't be Loki's daughter.
Because explaining something like that to a mainstream audience would be virtually impossible. And considering she's not his daughter in the Ultimate comics, it wouldn't be the first time.
  • Confirmed. She's Thor and Loki's long-lost sister.

Surtur will appear...
...in monster capacity who isn't played by anyone.
  • This.
  • He's actually being voiced by Clancy Brown, while director Taika Waititi will provide the motion-capture.

Odin will ask for Cap's help.
Going from the theory that Odin is upset at Thor for breaking Loki out of prison, he'll want another Mjolnir-worthy hero and Heimdall probably watched Thor placing Mjolnir on the floor and watching as his friends tried to lift it. Under the belief that Cap can wield Mjolnir but just opted to just tilt it since he doesn't want to rule Asgard, Odin (or Loki under the Odin disguise) will order Thor to hand over the hammer and Cap will finally show his true worth.
  • Once Cap lifts the hammer, Odin (or Loki under the Odin guise) will give him Thor's title as Prince of Asgard as per Thor's word back when the Avengers tried to loft Mjolnir in Age of Ultron.
  • Jossed. Not that this had much chance of being true to begin with...

The Thor clone from Civil War will be referenced.
At some point, Thor will lose blood during a battle on Earth and that blood will be found and delivered to Tony Stark or Thunderbolt Ross (probably Ross). It'll be a Sequel Hook and there'll be a caption reading "The Mighty Thor will return in Avengers: Rise of Clor".
  • The clone's movie version will go by the Fan Nickname given to the comic book version instead of the official name to attract more fans.
  • Tony's movie version will decry the clone idea from the beginning and instead use data collected by S.H.I.E.L.D. during the first Thor movie to replicate Mjolnir. The copy can be wielded by anyone strong enough to carry the uru metal but, while Thor may be impressed by how far Tony went, won't grant any of Thor's powers.
    • Jossed.

There will be a Mythology Gag referencing The Defenders.
Hulk and Valkyrie were two long-serving members of the team in the comics, and one of Valkyrie's very first appearances had her fighting the Hulk. The movie may have a nod to this.
  • The potential is even higher now that Feige has confirmed Doctor Strange has a cameo in the movie. C'mon Marvel, this is low hanging fruit!
  • Perhaps The Stinger will be Bruce Banner and the Valkyrie appearing at the door of the Sanctum asking if they can stay with Strange for awhile, to his chagrin.
    • Jossed.

Hela will be a Composite Character with Enchantress
So far, it hasn't been confirmed that the Enchantress is in the movie, even though her Dragon, the Executioner, is. The movie may have Hela be the subject of the Executioner's intense devotion, rather than the Enchantress.

Alternatively, Hela will be a Composite Character with Enchantress AND Death.
Since the above WMG suggests that Hela will be the object of Thanos' affection or Skurge's loyalty, why not both?
  • Jossed.

The Grandmaster was behind the Hulk's disappearance
At the end of Age of Ultron, Nick Fury mentioned that the Quinjet the Hulk stole was found crashed in the sea, with the Hulk nowhere to be found. The Grandmaster, now aware of the Hulk after the Avengers' victory over the Chitauri, may have abducted him after the fight with Ultron.
  • Building on that, the Grandmaster is holding Hulk hostage on Sakaar (as a gladiator, natch) in exchange for the Infinity Stones in Thor's possession (or at least, the ones he knows the whereabouts of), as part of a plot he's working out with the Collector.
    • Jossed. Hulk ended up flying through a wormhole and crashing on Sakaar.

The Grandmaster and Hela have a sort of cosmic bet going to see who can win between Hulk and Thor
There was a storyline in the comics called Contest of Champions (1982) in which Grandmaster has a wager with Death for the life of The Collector. They gathered Earth's heroes, split them up into their own teams, and had them fight to see who will win the wager. With Hela possibly taking the place of Death in the MCU and the promise that Thor and Hulk will fight, it's possible their battle will hold some significance between the two.
  • Jossed.

Thor will switch to using an ax at some point
In the comics, he began using an ax called Jarnbjorn after becoming unworthy of wielding his hammer. There could be a nod to that here.

Loki will be irredeemable
It is a possibility.
  • Jossed, though the film does play around with this. Thor states that he understands what kind of person Loki is, and even calls him out on his inability to change when Loki attempts to betray him. Loki then proves him wrong by returning to help with the evacuation of Asgard, and he and Thor appear to be on good terms by the end.

The end of the movie will be a reference to Jack Kirby's original idea for Thor
Jack Kirby had intended for Thor and his mythology to end and be reborn into a new pantheon of gods. When Marvel vetoed it, Jack took the idea to DC and used the concept to create the New Gods. Ragnarok will end with Thor and Loki and the other Asgardians reborn on Earth as Eternals from Kirby's similar mythology surrounding the Celestials, who were alluded to in Guardians of the Galaxy.
  • Jossed.

Sam Neill is playing Surtur.
The actor for Surtur has not been announced yet, while it's been confirmed that Neill will have a role in this movie. Coincidence?
  • Coincidence indeed. Surtur is actually played by Clancy Brown, while Neill plays an actor playing Odin.

Sif+Thor will begin here
Thor's relationship with Sif will get a boost here. Even if it's just him remembering Odin's subtle shipping in Dark World it will happen. There are two reasons for this: 1.) Natalie Portman has said she is "done" with the MCU and so Jane Foster isn't going to appear again unless the role is recast. 2.) It would reflect the development of the comics. There's a storyline where Jane is temporarily made into an Asgardian by Odin but doesn't fit in and is sent back to muggle society while Thor starts a new relationship with Sif. Perhaps he has a Love Epiphany. This accommodates the fact that Jaimie Alexander has said that her role is limited because she doesn't need to appear in person.
  • Jossed. Sif doesn't appear in the film.

Thor knew all along that Loki faked his death
During the Stinger of Doctor Strange (2016), it's revealed that Thor is knowingly working with Loki in order to find Odin, who has somehow disappeared.] While it's possible that he found out about his brother's survival after returning to Asgard, what if he knew before that? Like, when he was speaking to "Odin" at the end of the last film? It was revealed in that same film that he could now see through Loki's illusions, so maybe he saw through that one, but didn't say anything for one reason or another.
  • Jossed, if deleted scenes are considered canon. Loki was supposed to have a cameo in Age of Ultron during Thor's vision that the Scarlet Witch showed him. While the scene was cut already early due to the test screen audiences overemphasizing Loki's role and thinking that he controlled Ultron, the director revealed in an interview that during his vision, Thor's subconsciousness was telling him that Loki was alive and impersonating Odin, but Thor was not able to consciously make the connection yet. So at this point he still had to think that Loki was dead.
    • Jossed indeed. He didn't know when he came back to Asgard, though he managed to figure it out pretty quickly.

Likewise, Odin knew, too
When he addressed the guard who was actually Loki in disguise, he said, "Loki." There's a possibility that it wasn't in reply to the guard's words (that they had found a body), but instead he was saying, "Loki, I know that's you". And then there's Loki's smirk afterwards, almost as if he's saying, "Yeah, it's me." This could lead to the possibility that Odin temporarily put Loki in charge while he left to go somewhere else.
  • Jossed, for the most part. Odin admitted that Loki's charm had him fooled for a while, although it apparently did wear off eventually.

Why Loki apparently doesn't know where Odin is even though at the end of the last movie it was implied that he got rid of Odin somehow and replaced him.
  • Odin actually choose to leave Asgard for some reason and agreed to let Loki impersonate him and rule in his stead for some reason.
    • If he knew Surter/Fenrir/Hela was coming, maybe he was going on a secret quest to find something to stop them?
  • Loki did capture and imprison Odin so he could replace him, but Odin escaped/was taken by someone else and Loki has no idea where he is now.
  • Loki is lying to Thor about not knowing where Odin is because he doesn't want Thor to know he took over by force.
    • Jossed: He knew where he left Odin but by the time that they go to bring him back to Asgard he's since regained his memories and moved to Norway which Loki didn't know about.

What Odin's possibly been up to
He went missing because he's trying to find a way to bring Frigga back from the dead. Her death obviously left him broken, so maybe he cannot bear her loss... and that somehow ties into this film's plot, leading to having Grim Reaper Hela as Big Bad. In fact, maybe it's Odin himself who's working to get Ragnarok to happen so that Frigga may live again, thinking that there's some way he can be with her then in a reborn world.
  • Jossed: He's been living in Norway, having broken Loki's enchantment on him and regained his memories quite a while before the film takes place. He decided to stay there in exile.

The Post Credits Scene
  • A hero from Earth meets a character from this movie, saying they need to assemble.
  • The Kree make an appearance.
  • Hela encountering Thanos. Bonus points if it features Call Backs and Continuity Nods to The Stinger from TheAvengers. Namely:
    • Hela wears a hood, not only as a reference to Thanos' servant the Other, but also a reference to the stereotypical garb of Death.
    • Hela meets with Thanos in his Sanctuary and informs him of the events of the movie proper.
    • Thanos is seating in his throne, and does yet another Chair Reveal to show the Infinity Gauntlet.
    • Hela and Thanos kiss, as a reference to the infamous Wham Line about "[courting] Death".
  • The scene from Avengers: Infinity War of Thor landing on the Milano.
    • All Jossed.

Ragnarok will have some Bookends with the first Thor movie.
The first Thor movie begins with Thor getting banished to Earth after starting a war with Asgard's enemies. Ragnarok will end with Thor willingly sending himself to Earth after ending a war with Asgard' enemies.
  • Confirmed-ish? Thor and the ship full of Asgardian refugees are on their way to earth when the film ends.
  • The Stinger will feature a cameo of Tony Stark, since Iron Man 2 ended with a shot of Mjolnir. It also serves as a Call-Back from The Incredible Hulk (2008), as Tony himself appeared in the final scene.
    • Jossed.

How Thor found out that Loki is alive
After the events of Age of Ultron, Thor confronts "Odin" about his vision and about the infinity stones. Loki realises in what danger Asgard and basically the whole universe is and that he alone won't be able to do something against Thanos, especially since he basically betrayed Thanos in not being able to give him the Tesseract. Loki then reveals himself to Thor and tells him the little he does know about Thanos and that the only one who ''might'' be able to stop him is Odin. Loki genuinely doesn't know where Odin is and that's why the brothers seek help from Dr Strange.
  • Jossed: Surtur reveals to Thor that Odin is not on Asgard tipping Thor off that "Odin" is Loki.

Doctor Strange will be an Advertised Extra
He only has two scenes: the first being the mid-credits scene from his solo movie, and the other is him pointing out where Odin is before abruptly leaving the entire movie.
  • Confirmed.

The Fenris Wolf is Loki's child and is sentient
And it will be able to talk, revealing this to Bruce and causing an awkwardly hilarious moment.
  • Jossed.

Surtur will be played by Zendaya.
This! Isn't! Funny!
  • Jossed. He's actually being voiced by Clancy Brown, while director Taika Waititi will provide the motion-capture.

There will be a Call-Back to the Hulk punching Thor
  • Jossed

Loki will once again cheat death.
  • Jossed.

The final battle of the film will be Skurge vs Hela's army at the bridge of Gjallerbru.
Gjallerbru is where Skurge fought Hela's army in the comics. Which was Skurge's Dying Moment of Awesome.
  • Skurge does indeed fight Hela's army, as a reference to the comics scene. The scene occurs on the rainbow bridge of Bifrost, but the whole thing (including Skurge gunning down Hela's mooks with dual-wielded M16s) is straight out of his last stand at Gjallerbru in the comics.

Sam Neill will play Beta Ray Bill.
C'mon, this movie is the perfect time to introduce the character.
  • Jossed. He plays an actor playing Odin in Loki's play.

Thor and Friends will appear to avert Ragnarok near the end of the movie, until Thanos arrives.
Thor and friends will defeat Hela and any other villains, and return to Asgard triumphantly, only to find Thanos having arrived at Asgard, trashing the place and killing off Thor's supporting cast. Thor, Hulk, and maybe Dr. Strange if he's still there will flee to earth to warn everyone, leading into Infinity War.

Loki is responsible for Hulk being on Sakaar
He took advantage of the circumstances to get rid of a potential roadblock to his future plans and get some payback for the Curb-Stomp Battle he got from Hulk.
  • Jossed.

Doctor Strange is responsible for Hulk being on Sakaar
Banner found out about Strange and asked for his help to be cured. That wasn't possible so they decided the next best thing would be sending the Hulk to a world where he couldn't do much harm and would actually prosper. Because of said incident Thor will find out about Strange and seek his help.
  • Jossed.

Mordo will make an appearance
Given his current quest to cut down on the number of sorcerers in the world and restore balance to the magical forces of the universe, it's reasonable to assume Mordo would be keeping an eye on two highly-powerful magical beings wandering around New York, especially when a former close friend is helping said magical beings.
  • Jossed.

Hela breaking Mjonir
She does so in order to get the Soul Stone, which is hidden inside the hammer.
  • Partially confirmed as of the first trailer which shows Hela breaking the hammer. It remains to be seen if it contains an Infinity Stone, though it's unlikely.
  • Jossed. She simply destroys the hammer to disarm Thor.

Odin will be eaten alive by a giant wolf
'Nuff said!
  • Jossed.

Thor will kill a powerful enemy, make nine steps backwards, and collapse
No, he will not die. Hollywood, contracts and film sales are stronger than those vikings and their myths. Still, that part of the Ragnarok should be included anyway.
  • Jossed.

Sam Neil is playing Thanos
It seems odd that Josh Brolin has not been confirmed for this movie, given all the connections to Thanos. Maybe in order to make Thanos a surprise,Waititi decided to cast Sam Neill as Thanos.
  • Likely jossed as Thanos is not set to appear in this movie and if he were to appear secretly, there would be little reason to switch actors for one film as Brolin will be Thanos in the next two Avengers movies.
    • Jossed

Dr. Strange will repair Mjolnir
For all of us who have seen the first trailer, we know that Mjolnir will be destroyed during the movie. Also, after seeing Dr. Strange, we know that the good doctor is capable of using the Eye of Agamotto to manipulate time and restore things to their prior state. So what's to stop Dr. Strange from doing so to restore Mjolnir?
  • Respect for the natural order, perhaps?
    • So... nothing, then. This is Doctor Stephen "meddle in time and space" Strange, after all.
  • As far as Thor is aware, Mjolnir is apparently still broken at the start of Infinity War. Though he gets it back by retrieving it from the past (only to actually slightly prefer his new axe-hammer, Stormbreaker, that he made himself, mounted on a handle given to it by Groot) he might still have let Doctor Strange keep the once broken Mjolnir, if Strange repaired it at any point off screen...

The clip shown of Asgard getting annihilated is Surtur's doing
  • Confirmed.

Thor accidentally frees Surtur and/or Hela
In the beginning of the trailer, he's tied in chains in a volcanic realm with demonic looking creatures. Looks like Musphelheim, so it appears he accidentally winds up there.
  • Looks like Hela was freed accidentally, but it was by Loki, not Thor.
    • Hela was imprisoned by Odin's life force and is freed when he dies.
  • Jossed: Thor and Loki willingly unleash Surtur on Asgard to defeat Hela in the climax.

In the end of the film, Mjolnir will be reforged.
Not as a hammer though. The shards will be molded into a mace, called Thunderstrike.
  • Seems like a possibility. Since Mjolnir proper will apparently not be fixed yet at the start of Infinty War, this could be a way to give Thor a strong weapon.
    • Jossed

About that axe...
As mentioned, Thor appears to be wielding an axe in the concept art for Infinity War, despite the fact that he's shown using swords in most of the promotional art for Ragnarok, and actually has a club in the trailer. Additionally, the Executioner is shown wielding two machine guns in the trailer. It is possible that near the end of the movie, the Executioner bequeaths his axe to Thor just before going off to make a Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Jossed. Thor never gets an axe in Ragnarok.

Korg will die helping Thor and Hulk escape Sakaar
  • Jossed.

Hulk's attack on Thor in the arena is an act
Unless there's some kind of brainwash going on or he's pissed about something Thor did, Hulk recognizes Thor and doesn't want him messing up his current rep or doesn't want to kill him outright, but he also knows he can take his blows. So in his own way he's putting on a "I don't know who the hell this guy is" vibe in order to keep the facade up.
  • Jossed.

Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" will be incorporated into the film's score in some manner
Perhaps as a Leitmotif for Hela or Skurge.
  • Confirmed, actually. Only it's Thor's leitmotif!

Assuming that all three interact on-screen, Thor, Hulk, and Doctor Strange will form a Freudian Trio.
Let's break down that dynamic:
  • Id: The Hulk, obviously. He's a being powered by anger, and the physically strongest of the three.
  • Superego: Doctor Strange, as he is more cerebral, moralistic and (ironically) the most down-to-earth.
  • Ego: Thor, as he has to balance out the Hulk's rages and Strange's rationality.
    • Jossed.

Surtur has the Soul Stone
The Funko Pop toys for this movie contain two figures of note: one is the villain Surtur who was rumored to be in the film and the other is a figure of Thor holding what appears to be Surtur's head. Surtur will be decapitated at some point (perhaps by the Twilight Sword?) and it will be revealed that he has the Soul Stone inside. Thor will use that Stone to defeat Hela and possibly reforge Mjolnir (one of the making-of featurettes displays Thor with Mjolnir and some horned object chained to his back).
  • Jossed, although Thor does decapitate Surtur and chain his head to his back, which is then locked away and plays an important role in the movie later on.

The Soul Stone is used to separate Hulk and Banner
At some point, a villain will use the Soul Stone to separate Banner's soul from the Hulk, resulting in either Banner being cured or the Hulk being released entirely without Banner's moral restraints. Either that, or the Stone was used prior to the events of the movie, resulting in Thor having to battle a Bannerless Hulk during the Grandmaster's gladiatorial game. Eventually, Banner agrees to be bonded to the Hulk once again in order to save the day.
  • Jossed.

The Casket of Ancient Winters will make an appearance
It's a powerful MacGuffin that hasn't been seen since the first movie, and is still just laying around in Odin's treasure vault. Perhaps it could be used against, or even by Hela.
  • Confirmed. We see it briefly in the weapons vault, but it isn't used against Hela, and it's likely been destroyed along with the rest of Asgard. Unless Loki swiped it on his way out, along with the Tesseract that he's confirmed to have taken.

Hela will be revealed to be Loki's mother, not daughter
She looks older than Loki, and is possibly ancient. To still have them related, it'll be revealed that she had some kind of affair with Laufey, and Loki was the result. It would explain why Loki is so much smaller than other Jotuns, and possibly why he's so talented with magic.
  • Jossed: She's his and Thor's sister.

Bruce has somehow mentally regressed
According to Mark Ruffalo, Hulk speaks with the vocabulary of a child on account of having not De-Hulked for two years, and Banner displays multiple instances of child-like behaviour throughout the second trailer. It's possible that being in the backseat so long has corrupted Bruce's intelligence / emotional maturity.
  • Jossed.

Thor: Ragnarok will end with Asgard being COMPLETELY DESTROYED
The film will end with Thor battle against Hela and she will either killed or disappear (Depending on if Hela will appear for IW) but Thor decides to stay at Asgard to make sure if all Asgardians are NOT left behind and he closes his eye as Asgard being completely DESTORYED for good. It will explain of how he meet the Guardians of the Galaxy and Joe Russo stated that Thor's storyline picks up after the events of Thor: Ragnarok, which finds him in a "very profound... very interesting place" and gives him "a real emotional motivation after that." could Asgard being destroyed is his real emotional motivation? Maybe...
  • Semi-confirmed: Asgard gets obliterated by Surtur in the climax, but everyone except Hela is safe on the refugee ship when the place goes supernova, including Thor, so his meeting with the Guardians is coming at some later point.

Valkyrie will be a Composite Character of comics Valkyrie and Angela
Like, she'll for the most part be Valkyrie, but she's also Thor and Loki's long-lost sister. Think about it; she's been away from Asgard for Odin knows how long, and she's been living in space, which could either allow for some backstory connection to the Guardians of the Galaxy, or allow for her to join them at some point down the road, perhaps for Infinity War or Volume 3. Also, a central theme of the Thor movies so far has been the sibling relationship between Thor and Loki, and throwing a third sibling into the mix could shake that up in a really interesting way.

The MCU is lining up dark god "Avengers" for Infinity War II.
Or whatever the movie after Infinity War 1 will be called. Dormammu is one (he survived Doctor Strange (2016)), Surtur is another...
  • Galactus (if they're really hoping to make a Fantastic Four reference in Infinity War)
  • The Shadow King (ditto the above for X-Men, though he's connected to Black Panther via sightings in Wakanda)
  • Mephisto (since Ghost Rider appears in Agents of Shield, also there's Peter Parker he could mess with)
    • Jossed.

The Stinger will show the Soul Gem falling into the hands of the Sovereign
This operates on the assumption that the final gem will be revealed in the course of the film. It would keep up the pattern of Thor movies ending with nods to the Guardians.
"At last..." Inserts gem into Adam's cocoon, which begins to pulse with energy
  • Likely jossed. It's already been confirmed Adam will not be in Infinity War. The Soul Stone will likely not belong to him in this version.
    • Jossed

It will includes the biggest Plot Twist
It's interesting that Kevin Feige called Thor: Ragnarok "Winter Soldier of Thor Movies" since the film includes a plot twist that reveals Hydra infiltrated Shield long time ago. So the question is what will be the film's biggest plot twist? Marvel loves those tropes!
  • Hela is Thor's sister. Don't know if that's the biggest twist in the MCU though. Though Asgard getting destroyed does change the MCU in a big way, like the Hydra reveal did.

Hela will be confronted by Death
Hela's clearly not gonna make it past this movie. So in her final scene, after her Villainous Breakdown, she's confronted by a terrifying but silent hooded figure. She tries to affirm herself as the Goddess of Death, but is swiftly given a Shut Up, Hannibal! by the figure, whose skull face confirms it is the Grim Reaper of the Marvel Universe. The one Thanos pines for. Hela is destroyed, her soul taken as Death reenters her realm via a Sling Ring portal.
  • There's no 'clearly' about it, current signs actually point towards Hela surviving past Ragnarok, not the other way around. And if Mark Ruffalo is to be believed, Hela actually becomes Death, indicating that she will feature in Avengers: Infinity War as the muse of Thanos:
    "She's angry, and she wants to come back and take what she feels is rightfully hers. Except that she's been pushed so far into the darkness that she's become dark. She's now the manifestation of death."
    • Jossed. Death is not in the film at all. Hela's eventual fate is left entirely ambiguous.

Loki will have a cool come back to Hela's "I'm the goddess of death speech.
Something along the lines of "You may be the god of death, but I'm the god of tricks!"
  • Jossed.

Those Who Sit Above in Shadow will appear
They were a part of the original storyline in the comics and can be set up as a threat greater than Thanos for Phase 4.
  • Jossed.

There will be a Series Continuity Error somehow relating to Captain America: Civil War.
Seeing as the other two Marvel films this year had them (The FedEx carrier reference in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and "8 Years Later" in Spider-Man: Homecoming), there's a good chance that Civil War will continue to massively screw up the MCU timeline.
  • Jossed.

The final Infinity Stone is located beneath Odin's eyepatch.

Loki will be forced to pose as Odin throughout the film, even after Thor works out who he is
This is almost consistent with comedic myths where Thor and Loki have to travel together while in disguise. Plus it'll give Hopkins something to do. And it could work with the previous WMG about Hulk seeing through Loki's disguises.
  • Jossed.

    Post-Release Theories 
Hela draws power from the Asgardian people, not the realm of Asgard.
As Odin said, "Asgard isn't a place, it's a people". Perhaps Hela, who is stated to "get stronger the longer she is in Asgard" is actually drawing power from its people. This would mean that even without Ragnarok being unleashed the evacuation of the Asgardians would have caused a decline in Hela's power.

Why was Hela hunting the Asgardians? Two possible causes. Perhaps she doesn't realize this is the case. It would be hard to tell the two apart (power from realm or its people) if the only Asgardian population concentration is in their home realm and there is no exact way to measure her power. Another explanation is that even undead she can get power from Asgardians and she can exert greater control over them. Matti 23

Hela survived.
A case of Never Found the Body and the fact that she could be an Expy of Death and Thanos' love interest.
  • Not to mention that the film hints that Hela may be able to teleport (her appearance out of thin air in an aura of green magical energy at the beginning and the fact that she seems to be at the Asgardian stronghold in one moment and then magically appears at the palace in the next, even though Thor is still banging Gungnir on the ground to alert her attention). When watched closely in the final scene, there appears to be a sudden flash of green energy on the end of the giant spike that Hela is standing on just before Surtur plunges his sword into the ground and Asgard implodes. Could she have simply teleported away?
    • Seems doubtful; they repeatedly state across the film that her power is tied to Asgard - and this seems to mean Asgard the location, not Asgard as in its people as Odin suggested to Thor. With Asgard destroyed utterly, the source of her power would be gone.
      • But surely the same can also be said about Thor himself? He is also a child of Odin whose power is tied to Asgard, Odin states as such in the film. So if Thor is still alive and still has power, then surely Hela can be and does too? Both Hela and Thor's power is tied to Asgard, but they both have their own unique power too, being the children of Odin. So if Hela survived the end of Ragnarok (by teleporting away or whatever), then she would certainly be de-powered to quite a large extent, but that doesn't mean she can't come back and gain power from another source.
      • I assumed that it was the power of Asgard's rightful ruler that was tied to the land of Asgard itself; first Odin's power and then, as she was his firstborn, Hela's. Odin seems to have significantly greater power than any other Asgardian (that's the point of the Odinsleep, right? He needs rest to channel it all?). Hela also displays massive power, starting from the point after which she's presumably the rightful-born inheritor of Odin's throne.
      • Even if Hela would no longer be the Invincible Villain we saw in this movie, that doens't mean the destruction of Asgard would make her completely powerless either.

Asgard is a Celestial.
Asgard is the "body" of a Celestial, like Ego The Living Planet. Odin is a child (or later descendant) of the actual Celestial, which at some point chose to stop incarnating in humanoid form or went into hibernation. Hela is its true heir, channeling its power the same way Peter Quill does with Ego's.
  • In Norse Mythology the world was formed from the body of the primordial giant Ymir.

With Odin's death, the enchantment preventing Mjolnir from being wielded by those who aren't worthy wore off.
  • Hela herself undid the enchantment after Odin's death, having inherited the powers of his office, being his firstborn and all.

Assuming the above theory isn't true, Mjolnir's shattered remains are still under the enchantment and someone will ask Thor to pick them up.
Or we just found out where Tony got the metal for his Asgardian Armour.
  • Mjolnir would provide a fairly small amount of metal toward a complete suit of armor, but it would make protecting vital spots easy.
    • Tony having Asgardian Uru metal (what Mjolnir is made out of, "Uru", the metal formed in the heart of a dying star) armor is a good explanation for how he manages to make a nanotech exosuit for Infinity War and Endgame which is as tough as a regular suit. He had access to a small amount, and used it to make nanobot armour rather than needing whole large pieces of the toughest Midgardian Earth metal (Vibranium or similar) to achieve the same effect. Asgardian metals would explain how his armour could withstand Thanos and his sword, when even Cap's shield (which was indestructible to any Earth weapon or environment) could not.

Loki stole the Tesseract just before releasing Surtur.
This one seems very likely, since he gave it a look just before releasing Surtur in Odin's vault, and we never get a confirmation whether he took it or not.
  • Confirmed, Loki is in possession of the Tesseract at the beginning of Infinity War.

Thanos arrives in the ship at the end specifically to confront Loki for the Tesseract.
Additionally, Loki is palling around with Thor and the rest of Asgard as he feels he can be protected.
  • I'm holding out for a line like this:
    Thanos: The one called Loki has taken something of mine. Something that he shall now replace.
  • Confirmed for the former in Infinity War. Thanos specifically attacked the ship to obtain the Tesseract.

The Eternal Flame is the Soul Stone
Seeing as it is colored orange, much like a flame, and it brings back the dead to life. I know it's kinda stretching it, but screw it, this is a WMG after all.
  • Except that in the Mid-Credits scene for Thor: The Dark World, Volstagg said that "it would be unwise to keep two Infinity Stones in the same place". They would never have kept the Tesseract there if they already had one.
    • Perhaps they don't know that it's an Infinity Stone?
  • The Soul Stone is on Vormir during Endgame, but that's well after the events of this film, so maybe that's where it went after this.

Beta Ray Bill will appear at somepoint in Infinity War or in Phase 4
Beta Ray Bill will be another victim of Thanos and possibly enslaved alongside his surviving people to build war machines for his forces. However, Thor and the Asgardians would liberate Beta's race, with Beta deciding to devote his services to the Prince (or now King) of Thunder. With that, Thor bestowed part of his power through the same material that created Mjolnir.
  • Jossed for Infinity War...but said film pretty much confirms he'll show up at some point in phase 4 (whether it's in Endgame, a fourth Thor movie, or something else entirely is unknown), since Thor forges Stormbreaker (Bill's axe) to replace Mjolnir.
    • Definitely jossed for Endgame as well. The upcoming third Guardians Of The Galaxy film is your best bet, seemingly depicting Thor, now with Mjolnir back and no need for his new weapon, Stormbreaker, travelling through outer space instead of between the realms.

A frog will pick up a shard of Mjolnir and gain identical powers to Thor's.
  • Cool, Throak (Thor and Croak)
  • That's how Throg was created in the comics. Hell, we could set up Pet Avengers.

Mjolnir will be restored at some point between this movie and Infinity War.
Except for that piece picked up by the frog from the above guess.
  • Jossed. Mjolnir isn't restored until Infinity War, when Thor makes his own replacement, an axe-hammer called Stormbreaker, with a handle given to it by Groot, and then in Endgame, when he travels back in time, and steals the intact Mjolnir from a part Thor during the events of The Dark World.

Thor will get a new hammer which will just be a hammer
No worthiness enchantment, no flight, no lightning — all the powers he once channeled through Mjolnir are now his alone. His new hammer will be just a lump of metal on a stick that he can use for smashing things, because that's the weapon he's used to using, so it makes sense to carry on fighting that way. Also, Tony will add a fingerprint lock so only Thor can use it, so he can finally the argument from Age of Ultron.
  • Alternatively, he'll start using a spear, like his father.
  • Partially confirmed. He gets Stormbreaker in Infinity War, but it has all the same power as Mjolnir, but presumably not the limitation on who can use it.

Hela had a different mother
Odin had a wife before Frigga, who was Hela's mother. She died (most likely in battle), and Odin later married Frigga, who mellowed him out into a more peaceful man.
  • Her mother could have been Angrboda, re-imagined as an Asgardian, to keep at least one half of her parentage the same as canon. Or maybe even Jord, who was Thor's mother in mythology.
  • Confirmed, as in Infinity War, Thor refers to Hela as his half-sister.

Why Loki and Hela look alike
One of Loki's abilities is that he can see into people's memories, right? Well, when Odin picked him up after finding him, Loki without realizing took a peek into Odin's memories, saw Hela, and took on a similar appearance.
  • Alternatively, Odin cast the spell and made Loki look like Hela, because he missed his daughter, and wanted a reminder not to screw things up again (which didn't exactly work out, but oh well).
  • Or when he saw Loki abandoned as a baby, it subconsciously reminded him of how he had effectively abandoned his daughter, which could be one of the reasons he adopted Loki instead of just leaving him. So, since he was subconsciously thinking of Hela when he picked Loki up, he accidentally made Loki look like her.
  • And maybe Loki’s resemblance to Hela was one of the reasons Odin favoured Thor over him. Subconsciously or otherwise, seeing Loki was a painful reminder.

Hela and Loki share a birth mother
Making her the biological half-sister of both Thor and Loki.

Hela's birth name is Aldrif; anyone in charge of Helheim is called Hela
  • Alternatively, her name is Leah.

Skurge is the son of Elliot Randolph.
Skurge tells Hela that his father was a stonemason. Elliot was a stonemason in Asgard before coming to Earth.

Thor's powers are now tied to Earth as opposed to Asgard
When Odin dies, he tell Thor to remember this place, and every time Thor has a power up he talks to Odin when he is on Earth. And after he died, Odin's glowing ashes spread around, anchoring Thor's power on Earth.

Hulk is aging
Hulk/Banner spent two years on Sakaar. However, that's two years from Thor's point of view. Time on Sakaar is a bit wobblier. Hulk has the behavioral mannerisms and speech of a 5-6 year old. Hulk is growing up. The more time Banner spends as Hulk, the older and more mature Hulk will become. Right now, we are at 'small-child' Hulk. This means that we could eventually have Tony discussing thermo-nuclear astro physics with Banner and Hulk.
  • In addition to this Hulk is maturing far faster then average. He has at best only had a few WEEKS of subjective existence outside this and already developed enough to form some limited friendship with the other Avengers. Those friendships were simplistic as people he liked and who weren't trying to hurt him but still astoundingly complex for a few weeks of existing. It seems logical to assume that given he went from that to full sentences in two years, compared to a human going from crying indistinctly to crying and occasionally one or perhaps two words, Hulk is mentally developing at a highly accelerated rate as he catches up to Banner.

Thor will craft a new hammer and give it to another mortal to become a new God of Thunder. Or Protector of Earth. Whatever Thor's role originally was.
Thor is a king now. He's taken Odin's place, so he'll need someone to take over his old one.
  • Plenty of mythologies other than the Norse have thunder-gods as their chief deity but there's always the possibility that Thor will pick up a protégé, perhaps someone worthy enough to pick up the hammer's shards.

A tie-in comic, Telltale game, or other form of media will serve as Thor 4
And it will be an adaptation of the first volume of Aaron's Thor: God of Thunder, told in three time periods concurrently, featuring impetuous young Thor (as he appears in the first movie, noble Avengers-era Thor (as seen in the second movie), and wiser, one-eyed King Thor (as seen at the end of the third movie).
  • Jossed. Thor: Love and Thunder has been announced.

The Grandmaster (and by extension, The Collector) is just a human.
There is literally no indication that The Grandmaster is anything other than human, beyond his age. Even Asgardians are super-humanly strong and tough. Everything we hear about the Grandmaster is his own press, so none of it can really be taken at face value. But it's entirely possible that it is actually true, and he's just a human. A human who somehow got tossed across space but a human nonetheless. Could be interesting if he really was indeed the first human lost in space, and the first human found by some Sakaarian)

Stan Lee ended up on Sakaar after being abandoned by the Watchers in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Having lost his "ride home", he naturally ended up in the dustbin of the universe. The experience made him bitter and/or unhinged, so now he amuses himself by sadistically cutting the hair off the Grandmaster's gladiators.

Following the overthrow of the Grandmaster, the new ruler of Sakaar will be...Stan Lee.
This will be shown in Avengers: Infinity War or Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
  • Assuming he's still alive at that point.
  • Jossed for Infinity War.

Right after the end of the post-credits scene, he unleashed his true power on his rebellious subjects. A scene in a future film will show him sitting alone among rubble and skeletons, saying that he was perfectly willing to call the revolution a tie.

When the spaceship gets to Earth, Thor will hand Loki over to Earth authorities of some sort for trial, will agonize over whether or not to do so, or will be forced to do so by the other heroes.
The slippery little bastard did go pretty far over the Moral Event Horizon, after all. This... may not go well for anyone involved. Of course, that implies they even reach Earth, considering whose ship shows up in the Mid-Credits scene...

Alternatively, Loki will pull a Redemption Equals Death for real this time in Avengers: Infinity War.
Unless he double-crosses everyone again to work for Thanos — or was being controlled by Thanos to begin with, per the pre-release WMG above.
  • Confirmed, Loki is killed by Thanos after he attempts to dagger him before he can leave for Earth to get the other Stones.

Or Loki will actually help the Avengers right from the start.
He'll hand Thanos the Tesseract in order to save Asgard's people (but the encounter will still result in Thor drifting in space), and he'll spend the rest of the movie helping out the good guys. Mostly because it'll be a nice change, since this movie pointed out that his habit of betraying Thor is getting both predictable and old. It would be pretty pointless character development if it was tossed aside in the very next appearance.
  • Halfway Jossed. He does give up the Tesseract to save Thor, but is killed by Thanos after trying to fake another betrayal.

The skeleton that Thor was talking to at the beginning was originally named Doug
Seems to fit well with a gag later in the film.

Odin and/or Hela at one time planned to acquire and fully assemble the Infinity Gauntlet.
The existence of the fake Infinity Gauntlet suggests that they knew of the existence of the real one, and the Asgardians possessed the Tesseract and knew of the other Infinity Stones to some degree (e.g. being aware that putting two or more of them in one place would be a bad idea). This may, in fact, have been the cause of the falling-out between Odin and Hela: either both being aware that We Can Rule Together does not apply with the Gauntlet (much like the One Ring), or Odin feeling that assembling the Gauntlet and ruling the universe as supreme being would be going too far, with Hela disagreeing.

The other warrior who got stabbed in front of Valkyrie, shielding her from the blade with her own body, was her girlfriend.
It would be traumatic enough for Valkyrie to lose all of her comrades, even in a climactic final battle, but that being a personal sacrifice and unusually traumatic might explain why that moment in particular is heroic and dramatic, and why Valkyrie is such a washed-up alcoholic by the time we meet her in the movie. Valkyrie was intended to be shown as bi (sleeping with women in a deleted scene on Sakkar), so it's possible.
  • Tessa Thompson confirmed it in an interview.

Sif will appear in the new season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
She's already made two appearances on the show, and since she was banished from Asgard, she could be anywhere. Her appearance will explain further why she was banished, what she's been doing since then, and may even let her discover that Asgard is no more (and that the Warriors Three are all dead).
  • The first trailer for season five shows them in space, which makes this appearance even more likely.
    • Jossed.

Thor and Loki were raised believing they were twins
When Thor tells the snake story to Bruce and Valkyrie, he says that he and Loki were eight years old then. Either the Asgardian calendar is really weird or Odin adopted Loki shortly after/before Thor's birth and pretended that Loki was born together with Thor. That would also have made the adoption easier to hide than when the queen would suddenly have a second child without having been seen pregnant for months before.
  • Alternatively, they were considered to be close-spaced siblings and born within 12 months. Frigga could've claimed that Loki was a premature baby and therefore the pregnancy wasn't that obvious yet.

Mjolnir will be reforged
Stinger scene for some future film. The pieces of Mjolnir are lying in the ground. Someone comes, with Feet-First Introduction. This person grabs the handle, and suddenly all the pieces fly back to their place and reforge themselves. We see hints of a transformation... and the mystery person (never seen clearly) flies away, leaving everyone asking: who was that??!!

After all, Chris Hemsworth may eventually cease working as Thor, but Marvel will probably want to keep the character around in some capacity for a while longer. And who knows? Perhaps Natalie Portman may return if she gets to be the main character...

  • An introduction in a stinger may or may not happen, but the last part is confirmed: Natalie Portman returned, and will be Thor herself.

Surtur will reincarnate as soon as Thor declares a new land "Asgard"
He may have destroyed the original Asgard, but who's to say he won't magically reincarnate in Muspelheim as soon as Thor declares a land "new Asgard" or something like that.

Skurge's M-16 rifles were upgraded with Asgardian technology
Skurge had a friend, a weaponsmith, add some upgrades to Des and Troy, giving them Bottomless Magazines and toughening them to where they could crush undead warriors. That or some armourer in 'Tex-Arse' was Crazy-Prepared...

Ruffalo's appearance is the result of The Hulk physically taking over Norton's Hulk.
He's kind of the in-between of Norton's narrow features and The Hulk's beefcake face.

Why Sakaar is the way it is.
There's nothing special about Sakaar as a planet specifically. It was orbiting some star and got thrown out of its orbit by some rogue planetary body. It then wound up going through one of those wormholes and ended up at the center of whatever gravity well the wormholes were feeding. Because the planet was the largest thing there, it attracted all of the junk to itself and now new stuff lands directly on its surface. This also explains the temporal weirdness associated with Sakaar: gravity slows down the progression of time, so outside events observed from Sakaar appear to move extremely fast. note  About all the water, recall that the largest of the wormholes connects more or less directly to Asgard—so now we know where all the water that tumbled off the edge of Asgard ended up! Additionally, there is no indication that we ever saw the actual land of Sakaar, so for all we know, everything that we saw was built on top of miles of water and trash and the "land" is just fill. note 

The Valkyries created Sakaar
Using holes in the spacetime continuum, the Valkyries would attract and corral warriors from throughout the universe to add to the ranks of Odin's army. We know Odin used to have a more imperialist bent, so this might be his answer to impressment. Hence the myth that Valkyries spirited fallen soldiers off to the battlefield and brought them to Valhalla. This also explains how our Valkyrie knew about the place to begin with.

Fenris will end up on Sakaar.
The exit from Devil's Anus seems to be below Asgard and that's where Fenris fell.

Alternatively, Fenris will end up with Thanos.
Admittedly, when Loki fell into the abyss the wormhole was created by the destruction of the Bifrost, but there might still be "natural" wormholes leading to Thanos somewhere below the Bifrost.
  • Jossed. Fenris doesn't appear nor is mentioned in Infinity War or Endgame.

Ragnarok was invented by Odin as a way to defeat Hela.
Since Odin knew how powerful Hela was, and that she drew power from Asgard, he might have planned a contingency for his heirs to stop her.This included making a prophecy and either creating or enchanting Surtur. Him beating Surtur was probably a cover up for the real story.

Sanctum Sanctorum Thor visited was in Mirror Dimension
First of all, Thor simply appeared in the Sanctum after knocking on the door. Then Strange appeared out of thin air himself. Seems like the good doctor cast Thor into Mirror Dimension when he knocked and then entered it himself. Strange obviously knows Thor's destructive potential and may have decided not to risk his Sanctum getting thrashed just in case. This would explain how Strange just warps them both around the Sanctum (Mirror Dimension being much more malleable) and why he doesn't seem to care that much about Thor breaking a bookshelf or damage caused by summoned Mjollnir.

Banner really is stuck as Hulk... and it's Thor's fault
Let's run this down. Banner was the Hulk for years. He turned back after seeing a recording of Black Widow, and was worried that if he transformed again, he'd be stuck. Back in Civil War, BW used the "sun is getting low" mantra as the way to turn him back. In this film, Thor tries to use that to keep Banner calm... and runs it into the ground, saying it over and over to the point Banner is incredibly annoyed and has to tell him to stop. It's played for laughs, but Thor's just ruined the one reliable way they have to get the Hulk under control. When they do get back, and Natasha tries it, Hulk'll probably just throw Thor at her, or something. Whoops.
  • Jossed, Hulk turns into Bruce again at the beginning of Infinity War, after getting sent to New York, by Heimdall.

Loki took the Tesseract, but not for the reasons everyone suspects
Let's rewind to shortly before Asgard was destroyed. Loki is in the Treasure Vault, which is likely buried deep within the palace of Asgard, and getting ready to throw Surtur's crown into the Eternal Flame. As soon as he does that, it only takes seconds for a giant fire demon to erupt from the palace. Now, Jotuns like Loki don't mix well with fire (and if you subscribe to the theory that Loki was tortured by Thanos with some form of heat and flame, he has extra reason to dislike fire) so he probably wants to get the Hel out of there. To reach safety, he needs to exit the vault, leave the palace, navigate across Asgard as it's being crushed, then cross a good portion of the Rainbow Bridge and board a ship that is in the process of takeoff. Now we're talking about Loki and not Quicksilver, so that probably isn't a 5 second stroll. And there's no indication of a tiny figure fleeing from the giant Surtur in the background. So how did he end up on the ship with everyone else? Simple. Loki grabbed the Tesseract, the Space Stone, and used it to teleport straight onto the ship from the vault. That he then has the Tesseract to later use as a bargaining chip/hand over to Thanos/do whatever with later is just a bonus.
  • Loki flew the Commodore to the Palace/Vault and the Commodore is later seen docked on top of the Statesman ship. So Loki clearly flew it there.
  • He definitely flew the Commodore back to the main ship, although he could have perhaps used the Tessaract to port whatever distance back to the Commodore before Surtur erupted in his face... if the Tessaract can do that. We know it can open portals, but Selvig had to acquire iridium, etc. to open the portal in New York. Can the Tesseract actually be used as a straight-up teleport device? I figured he didn't have a clear plan when he grabbed it — it just would have been stupid to leave an object that powerful lying around in a world that's about to be destroyed, especially when a megalomaniac titan is after your ass for not getting it for him. If Loki had left the Tessaract behind it would have ended up floating randomly in space for Thanos to pick up, and if Thanos did ever catch up with him, he'd have nothing to bargain with. Plus, you know, power. But if the Tesseract is capable of teleporting people, couldn't Loki just use it to get everybody the hell away from Thanos at the start of Infinity War?
    • Thanos is able to use the Tesseract's power to teleport around like nobody's business once he gets it, so yes it is capable of that. As for why Loki didn't use it to save everyone at the start of Infinity War there are several reasons. On a meta level, you have the plot requiring Thanos to end up with the stone sooner or later. In-story he might not have had the opportunity. Warping a bunch of people might have needed preparation time they didn't have.
    • Yes, but Thanos has the gauntlet. I was under the impression that some sort of channeling device is required in order to teleport with the Tesseract, not that you could just make it happen with your mind. If anybody who has the Tesseract can do that, then why did Loki even need Selvig to build him anything in The Avengers? Wouldn't he have just grabbed the Tesseract and teleported wherever the hell he wanted instantly? I mean, I guess the portal in New York had to be sustained, so you might need a device, but I don't recall anybody commenting on Loki porting around the globe with it, which he could have easily done if that's how the Tesseract works. Also, couldn't Loki have then used it to teleport himself and Thor and possibly Heimdall - that's only three people - away while Thanos was busy fighting the Hulk in Infinity War? Or at least gone Nightcrawler on their asses?

Jane dumped Thor for someone else
...And that someone is Richard!

Loki betrayed Thor on Sakaar to keep him safe from Hela
...other than because he wanted to get back at him for that hurtful speech in the elevator. Loki claims that he'll get an reward from the Grandmaster, but as we saw in the scene before, the Grandmaster didn't mention any reward, in fact he threatened Loki and Valkyrie with a "public execution" should they not succeed in bringing Thor and the Hulk back. And during their talk in the cell, Loki told Thor that he basically thinks that trying to fight Hela would be plain suicide. His betrayal is more a misguided way to save himself from the Grandmaster and to keep Thor safe from Hela. Thor would most likely not get harmed by the Grandmaster since he's a quite formidable champion, and the audience loves him if them shouting "Thunder!" is any indication. Loki himself would of course never admit it, but he also doesn't want Thor to think that he backstabbed him again, hence Loki's claim that this time, his "betrayal" is "truly nothing personal."

Hela is Loki's mother.
Let's have a look at the evidence:
  • Both are Eerie Pale Skinned Brunettes wearing black and green, wielding sorcery and blades.
  • Like Loki, Hela is ambitious, melodramatic and demands people to kneel before her. Unlike him, she is intimidating and a No-Nonsense Nemesis who knows how to get what she wants.
  • Loki was found abandoned by his father, presumably for being a runt, but being half-Asgardian would give Laufey a better reason. Odin immediately decides to adopt him. He adapts very easily to Asgard and his adoptive parents, especially Frigga, take to him. Hela could have left him while on the run from Odin (or plainly disappointed by Laufey's weakness). We are also reminded of Loki's adoption early on in the movie.
  • Odin had some vague plan of "joining the realms" with Jotunnheim, which would make more sense if Loki was also descended from him.
  • Hela knows her father had lost one eye, and in the first film he was shown with a fresh wound after the battle of Jotunnheim.
  • Hela immediately dismisses the Casket of Ancient Winters as weak. She must have witnessed it in action and if it has been in an Asgard-Jotunnheim war with her at the helm, it's safe to say it would have been Laufey's last. We know that's not the case. Hence she might have seen it while fighting side by side with Laufey.
  • Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory, but when Hela impales the murals in Odin's throne room, one crack does through the image of Laufey, and the other through Odin, Frigga and Loki.

Adding to an above WMG, Beta Ray Bill will become Thor's successor after Avengers 4
Even if he survives Avengers 4, Thor will most likely not be running around having adventures again, as his responsibilities as the king of the surviving Asgardians would prevent it. If there is a Thor 4, it will be focused on Thor settling the surviving Asgardians in Norway and passing on the role of protector of the Nine Realms to someone else. They could rather easily make it so that Bill was one of the gladiators who went with Loki to rescue the Asgardians, giving him a reason to be on the ship when it eventually makes it to Earth. Perhaps Bill will stumble across the remains of Mjolnir and pick them up, carrying them to Thor. Thor will see that Mjolnir, even in fragments, still can only be moved by those who are worthy, and will decide to train Bill as his successor as Mjolnir's wielder.

Loki is afraid of Loss of Identity
Loki's whole world was shaken when he found out he wasn't who he thoughts he was. So he had to redefine himself, and fully refined himself as the God of Mischief, or what he thought would be that. And he held on to it because he couldn't bear another Loss of Identity, that's why he refused to change and to evolve, as Thor lampshades in the hangar. Him betraying Thor was likely an attempt to keep the status quo intact when Thor himself intended to move on without his brother. That's also why Thor's Kirk Summation is so effective: Thor tells him "you will always be the God of Mischief, but you could be more", assuring Loki that he doesn't have to fully redefine himself again to be a hero and still can have certain character traits in a benevolent way.

"Doug" is actually the Silver Surfer
The name is a meta reference, coming from the fact that the Surfer was played by Doug Jones in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, his only major live action appearance to date.The Surfer actually appeared in the original Planet Hulk comic, and, like Doug, was killed in the arena by Hulk. It's quite possible this reference was included as a sad way of saying that Waititi & Co. wanted to use the Surfer in the movie, but was unable to due to rights issues.
  • I was incorrect, Surfer survived the encounter and was actually freed by Hulk. That said, they still fought on Sakkar in the gladiator games, so it still fits.

Thor and Hela are half siblings, but so are Hela and Loki.
So Odin is going around the universe conquering and fighting only to come up against the frost giants. They fight to a stand still and hes forced into making a peace agreement. How did they make peace agreements back in the good old days? Arranged marriages or mutual children to assure no fighting can happen as it would then be with kin. Marriage based on not kinslaying used to be an extremely big no-no.

Odin and a Frost Giant woman beget Hela who had the magical and physical strengths of both Asgardian and Frost Giant. She serves as the official end of the first war between Asgard and Frost Giants. Things fell apart when Odin decided that the constant war was doing more harm then good, which his giantess wife if she was still around disagreed with, and eventually they split up with her returning to the Frost Giants. This Frost Giantess had another child but unlike Hela he was effectively a runt and was abandoned during the second big war with Asgard only to be found by Odin who recognized the resemblance and adopted him.

The Massacre of the Valkyries was a deliberate move by Odin
They must have been part of his past campaigns, and were thus, witnesses to Asgard's dark history. Odin was banking on Hela to massacre the Valkyries. He'd then swoop in to banish her.

Nothing Odin does is without a purpose. So he did send them with some purpose there, and being wise, he didn't fail. His original idea always comes to fruition, regardless of how what happened seems to appear. He seems to have made a mistake, lost his best warriors, but did he? Did he not know that he would lose them, that they pose no harm to Hela? More likely, Odin saw how to wipe them out without ever possibly being considered a killer and did so. You can't change the idea of yourself as a murderous king into a peaceful one by just killing off an army of your own people. That would not go unnoticed and now you have more people to kill. Instead, you send them to a lost cause. They die, you mourn, you avenge them by vanquishing the enemy rather than murdering them and voila, you are a marvelous peace bringing ruler. Now you only have some minor painting and redecorating to do, and you're set.

There was no way the Valkyries were meant to survive this. The fact that one did was actually... unfortunate, in Odin's eyes, probably. And syncs up with common stories from Norse mythology of Odin being kind of a dick.

There was a rise of fairly potent new super-heroes and super-villains, in Norway, shortly after the events of Thor Ragnarok.
First, somebody discovered a small patch of ground in a random field that seemed to be full of small shards of metal, and collected them up. Then it was discovered that possessing some of the shards would grant the wielder strange power. Strength, toughness, even control of the weather...

By the time that the town of New Asgard was built, there was a very well established community of super-heroes and super-villains, all of whom were a nonpowered person (or got powers from somewhere unrelated) or they're using a sliver or more of the old Mjolnir, to grant themself some portion of Thor powers.


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