Chris Hemsworth

We are still about a year and a half away from the release of Thor: Ragnarok, but the rumors just keep pouring in. In addition to last week’s report on Cate Blanchett’s potential villainous role, another report has surfaced, this time suggesting how Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk may enter the picture, and it sounds just crazy enough to be true.

In the Norse mythological tradition, the term Ragnarök refers to a great series of cataclysmic events through which the slate of Earth may be struck completely, wiped clean, and started anew. It’s like a slightly more optimistic version of the apocalypse, wherein two survivors will begin again in a purer, kinder world. So when Marvel revealed that the third installment in Thor’s solo series of films would be titled Thor: Ragnarok, everyone knew what was up. This is not Thor: Day at the Beach or Thor: Light Picnic. In the parlance of “the streets,” it’s going down.

One of the biggest mysteries following Avengers: Age of Ultron is the whereabouts of The Hulk. After taking part in the climactic battle in Sokovia and helping the Avengers to defeat Ultron, Hulk takes off in a Quinjet for parts unknown. Even Black Widow and Nick Fury have no idea where he went. Well, you won’t have to wait that much longer to find out. A new report says that The Hulk will actually co-star in Thor: Ragnarok and will be teaming up with the Norse God to save the day.

Big news from the land of Asgard; stuff so surprising not even Heimdall could have seen it coming. TheWrap reports that Marvel has decided on a director to helm the third Thor film, Thor: Ragnarok. And it’s Taika Waititi, a writer/director/actor from New Zealand. Waititi is an accomplished filmmaker, but his work tends to be in a much smaller vein than your standard Marvel fare; character-based comedies and dramas like Eagle Vs. Shark and Boy. His most recent effort was the hilarious vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows, which was great but also not nearly of the size or scope of a Marvel movie. TheWrap says Waititi is now “in negotiations” for the job.

The superheroes at the center of Avengers: Age of Ultron resonate so strongly with so many people because they’re so deeply entrenched in popular culture. Captain America, Iron Man and the Hulk were around for years before Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo were even born. These aren’t just characters – they’re icons. And while serious comic book nerds know how much Earth’s mightiest heroes have changed with the times, taking a look back at what the likes of Black Widow and Hawkeye and the Vision used to look like is both entertaining and (dare we say it?) educational.

If The Avengers feel like one big, slightly dysfunctional family, it's because they are. And that applies to off-screen as well as on. Playing off that chemistry, the cast of Avengers: Age of Ultron — Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner — appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night and played a rousing game of Family Feud.

Before Marvel's Thor finally hit theaters in 2011, there were multiple attempts from directors to make a movie based on the popular comic character. Way back in 1991, Sam Raimi (who had just directed Darkman) pitched both Stan Lee and Marvel his take on the Norse god, but the studio “didn’t get it” according to the director. Probably a good thing, because if they did, we might not have the Avengers movies. This is just one of the facts packed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which heads to Asgard with Thor!

Did anyone think that SNL was going to get Chris Hemsworth to guest host and not do an Avengers sketch? Of course not! Although Avengers: Age of Ultron isn’t out for another two months, this bit takes place after the events of that film, following Earth’s Mightiest Heroes as they deal with the fallout from winning their toughest battle yet. Well, at least some of them are dealing with the fallout. Thor is just partying.

Jimmy Fallon --- late night talk show host and guy who definitely hogs the microphone at karaoke and probably jumps up to "duet" with people who weren't actually looking to sing a duet right now, thanks, Jimmy --- likes to play party games and parlor games on his Tonight Show show. On last night's Tonight Show show he played a game of musical chairs with three important additions; beer, Thor, and Wolverine. And no chairs.

We're on the set of Avengers: Age of Ultron, inside the new Avengers Tower; formerly Stark Tower and now converted to a de facto headquarters for the Earth’s mightiest heroes. It’s all very sleek and shiny and pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a place Tony Stark calls home. Except now, it's a complete disaster. There's broken glass scattered across the floor. Furniture is destroyed. There are giant gashes in the wall. There's a production assistant dramatically swinging a giant cape around (the actors film their fight scenes without the cape, and the cape is added later in post-production).