In support of next week’s Blu-ray & 4K release of “Thor: Ragnarok” on Tuesday, March 6th, we have a special clip from the commentary track discussing the Australia/New Zealand influence on the spaceships in the film, along with a variety of additional AU/NZ fun facts from director Taika Waititi himself.
- The horns on Surtur’s helmet were crafted out of an ancient Australian boomerang that the crew received as a gift while filming in Australia.
- The Grandmaster’s henchwoman, Topaz, is played by Rachel House. She has starred in many of Taika Waititi’s projects, including “Eagle vs. Shark,” “Boy,” and “Hunt for the Wilderpeople.”
- Taika Waititi is a big fan of sketch comedy actor Steven Oliver from Australia’s “Black Comedy” television series and contacted him to be “Cousin Carlo” in a scene with Jeff Goldblum.
- The scene where Valkyrie opens a bottle with her blade is an homage to the Beth Heke character in “Once Were Warriors.”
- Chris Hemsworth loved Taika Waititi so much he shaved an “N” and a “Z” on the sides of his head for “New Zealand.” (according to Taika, at least).
- Interns from a local Aboriginal community created much of the Hulk parade masks & banner props on Sakaar. Several of the interns ended up getting jobs with the art department.
- During Hela’s fight sequence against the army of Asgard, she is doubled by the famous New Zealand stuntwoman, Zoe Bell.
- The colors for The Grandmaster’s ship, The Commodore, were inspired by the Aboriginal flag, while Valkyrie’s ship colors were modeled on the Maori flag. Many of the spaceships in the film were also named after cars from the Australia/New Zealand car company, Holden – Statesman, Commodore, Escort, Kingswood, Torana, etc.
Available on 4K Ultra HD™ and Blu-ray™ March 6th
