Darth Vader’s Empire Strikes Back revelation to Luke Skywalker — “No… I am your father.” –remains one of the most iconic moments in pop culture. Its place in cinematic history was not lost on Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi, who reveals that the big character twist regarding Hela and Thor’s familial relationship was originally intended to come later in the film, but was ultimately moved to an earlier scene due to the comparisons to Star Wars they felt would inevitably come.
In an interview with Empire, Waititi explained that Ragnarok could never compete with Star Wars. “We thought, ‘We can’t ever compete with Luke and Darth, which is the greatest reveal ever,” Waititi said. “Why bother?”
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In a character twist that strays from its comic book origins, Ragnarok villain, Hela, is revealed to be the exiled firstborn daughter of Odin, and therefore Thor’s older sister. Waititi said Hela’s reveal was part of a later scene in early drafts of the script, but was moved earlier in the film, in part to dodge the Star Wars comparisons. “Let’s get it out of the way early, because it’s actually not the most important thing,” Waitit explained. “What’s more important is the fact that Asgard was built on lies.”
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In theaters now, Thor: Ragnarok stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Cate Blanchett as Hela, Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Anthony Hopkins as Odin and Karl Urban as Skurge.