Thor: The Dark World (2013)

The second film in the Thor series

Summary

-Thor is now on a mission to save the universe from being plunged into eternal darkness and, in the process, is reunited with an old love interest, Dr. Jane Foster

Cast

-Chris Hemsworth: Thor

-Natalie Portman: Jane Foster

-Stellan Skarsgard: Dr. Erik Selvig

-Tom Hiddleston: Loki

-Anthony Hopkins: Odin

-Rene Russo: Frigga

-Christopher Eccleston: Malekith

-Jaimie Alexander: Sif

-Zachary Levi: Fandral

-Ray Stevenson: Voldragg

Did You Know?

-Unlike what he had to do in 2011's Thor, where he wore a wig, he grew his hair out to have it long for this film

-In one scene, Thor destroys a statue of Bor, his grandfather and Loki cracks a joke, saying he killed him. In the comics, Thor killed his grandfather as a result of a deception from Loki

-Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was so impressive in doing his own stunts that director Alan Taylor let him do them instead of stunt men, who couldn't do as well as him

-For the dark world of Svartalfheim, Iceland was chosen because of its black volcanic areas. In Old Norse, svartalfheim means "Home of the Black Elves"

-The waterfalls in Asgard were based on the Dettifoss Waterfall in Iceland

-There was a lot of trouble filming at the famed Stonehenge in England. Permission had to be obtained from local historical societies. They could only be among the stones during normal visiting hours. To do this, the crew had to film early in the morning before visiting hours started. Because it was a heritage site, no one could touch the stones or walk on them

-Filming was done in Norway to give Asgard a more natural feel. Director Alan Taylor said "The first Thor was quite shiny and it was a very conscious, smart choice. I wanted to get more of a sense of the Viking quality, the texture and the weight of history. They've been around for thousands of years."

-In both Norse mythology and the Marvel universe, Einherjar are souls of the dead in Valhalla. In the film, they are guardians of the city of Asgard

-The effects of the black hole grenade were based on the effects of depth charges

-To gain the necessary amount of muscle weight, Chris Hemsworth adopted a high protein diet. But he had to keep changing it because of the filming schedule and locations

-In the scene where Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) first speaks, he is wearing blue and yellow pants. Blue and yellow are the colors of his home country of Sweden

-When Loki is in his prison cell, tossing a ball against the wall and catching it, it's a nod to Steve McQueen in The Great Escape

-This is the only Marvel movie where Loki doesn't wear his famous horned helmet

-The major fight scene in the film takes place at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, England

-For his role as Fandral, Zachary Levi had to dye his hair blonde

-This is not the first time Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje played a villain. He played Lok-Nah in The Mummy Returns and meets a gory end in the film. He appeared on Game of Thrones, playing a character named Malko and also played Killer Croc in the Suicide Squad film by David Ayler

-In the post-credit scene where Thor and Jane finally kiss, Natalie Portman was not available to do the scene. Instead, Chris Hemsworth did the scene with real life wife Elsa Pataky