Marvel’s reign over the multiplexes continues this month with the release of Thor: The Dark World; another action heavy and humorous delve into the fantastical realm of Asgard. With a darker, otherworldly setting and tone, Thor: The Dark World explores the evolving relationship between the Norse God and his adopted brother Loki in such illustrious settings as modern day South East London.
New Empress attended a press conference with the cast and crew of Thor: The Dark World to discuss the film and burning issues like the inaccuracy with which the London Underground system is portrayed. We know that Thor would have been much better off getting the big train from Charing Cross to Greenwich.
Kevin Feige (Producer): Humour is definitely the key in terms of grounding our movies so they resonate with an audience. We have spaceships and planets in this so found that humour is a way to get the audience to just embrace and accept the worlds and all the craziness and costumes. It’s worked for us going back to the first Iron Man film. Marvel have a very tight group at the studio so all of the movies are very coordinated but because it’s such a small group it doesn’t feel like such an overwhelming task. We have announced plans to the end of 2015 but are planning into 2017. Next year we will announce what those 2017 films are. I know there are other things planned for TV too.
Alan Taylor (Director) : At first I wanted to darken Asgard and deepen it and dirty it up a little bit. I actually felt that way going in but as I started the process I thought, if we’re going to darken it we better make sure it’s balanced because that’s the key to the universe and the Marvel language. It’s called The Dark World and there are some dark things in it. There were so many obligations when it came to directing this you know it had to be dark and looked engaging and it must be funny and have a high entertainment value. And part of that process is condensing and tightening so naturally some things fall out that you don’t want to fall out. Some things dear to my heart that I loved.
Tom Hiddleston (Loki) : The thing that always grounds me in the role is the family relationships, which happens in a space and time of Gods and monsters. But the heart of the film is about a father, sons, two brothers and the fractious, intimate, interaction that they have. I think Loki is defined by Thor. He’s defined in opposition to him, the whole point of this is that they are in opposition. The popularity of Loki has been such an amazing surprise. I never expected it in my wildest dreams. He’s a mixture of charm and mischief. That’s his monarchy, the God of Mischief. There’s a playfulness to him too but he’s such a broken character, he’s grief-stricken and bitter, jealous, angry, lonely and proud. So the cocktail of all of this psychological damage and his playfulness, it’s a really interesting combination to have as an actor.
Chris Hemsworth (Thor) : I don’t think it was ever planned to have Loki in this many films but it’s purely to do with everything that Tom brought to the table in the first one and how incredible he was. And the mixture of strength and madness and mischief and vulnerability serves as an access point. We just have a chemistry and so much enthusiasm and it’s a relationship I really look forward to delving into again. Up to this point we haven’t had a really acute focus on Thor and Loki and this film gave us the perfect opportunity to do that. It was nice to have a more mature Thor who’s less petulant and arrogant and his transition to him understanding the darker side of the throne and the responsibility and sacrifices.
Natalie Portman (Jane Foster) : It was very exciting to come back and work with everyone and meet people who were joining and also because my character Jane gets to go to Asgard. There was definitely a lot of laughing on set. We don’t really shoot in Hollywood anymore but I love working here though and envy British actors and British crews because American and Australian actors, we end up like gypsies moving about all the time but you could really have a wonderfully rich career between theatre and TV here and film also. It’s pretty cool to be able to live and work in the same place.
Christopher Eccleston (Malekith): The point of my storyline is for me to get paid. The point of my storyline is also vengeance. Malekith is a maniac. There were some scenes that, for understandable reasons, didn’t make the final cut, and they explain a bit of a back story between my ancestors and Odin’s father. Before the big bang, centuries and centuries ago, the dark elves were humiliated in defeat and ground into the dirt by Odin and Malekith slept on that. Somebody once said let he who seeks vengeance be careful to dig two graves because it’s a pointless exercise. My job was to bring a dark element with the dark elves who were seeking to turn light into darkness. It really is that simple and classic.
Thor: The Dark World is in cinemas October 30th
