Earlier this month, Mark Ruffalo may have accidentally let slip that Cate Blanchett is playing a “baddie” in Thor: Ragnarok, and although the actress has yet to be officially confirmed for the sequel, we may have some new intel on just which baddie she’ll be playing. A new report suggests the identity of Blanchett’s character — and it’s one that has potential to play a huge part in the future of the MCU.

Geek.com reports that Blanchett — should she officially sign on — would be playing Hela, a character who was originally born to a previous iteration of Loki and dubbed goddess by Odin, who put her in charge of the dead. Hela is the ruler of Hel and Niffleheim, and has frequently run afoul of Odin and Thor in her endeavors to annex other realms.

This new rumor suggests that Blanchett’s Hela will join forces with Loki, who has usurped Odin’s throne in the guise of his father, and that by the time Thor gets wise to what’s happening in Asgard, their mischief has already been set in motion. Furthermore, since Hela is the Goddess of Death, there would potentially be no need to introduce Death, the other Marvel character with whom Thanos falls in love, driving him to madness in his attempt to take over the universe.

Marvel could simply turn Hela into a composite of these two characters, giving Blanchett a key role in Avengers: Infinity War — although, if Joe and Anthony Russo are to be believed, that film already has something like “67 characters.”

Taika Waititi is directing Thor: Ragnarok, with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston reprising their roles as Thor and Loki, with Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk also on board for the sequel, which will reportedly be largely set in space this time around. In a recent interview, Ruffalo described the film as a road movie similar to Midnight Run.

Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters on November 3, 2017.

 

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