title: Taxi Driver

text: The climactic shoot-out was considered intensely graphic by a few critics, considering an X rating for the film. The film was booed at the Cannes Film Festival for its graphic violence. In order to attain an R rating, Scorsese had the colors de-saturated, making the brightly colored blood less prominent. In later interviews, Scorsese commented that he was pleased by the color change and considered it an improvement over the originally filmed scene. In the special-edition DVD, Michael Chapman, the film's cinematographer, regrets the decision and the fact that no print with the unmuted colors exists anymore, as the originals had long since deteriorated.


title: Taxi Driver

text: Roger Ebert has written of the film's ending:There has been much discussion about the ending, in which we see newspaper clippings about Travis's "heroism" of saving Iris, and then Betsy gets into his cab and seems to give him admiration instead of her earlier disgust. Is this a fantasy scene? Did Travis survive the shoot-out? Are we experiencing his dying thoughts? Can the sequence be accepted as literally true? ... I am not sure there can be an answer to these questions. The end sequence plays like music, not drama: It completes the story on an emotional, not a literal, level. We end not on carnage but on redemption, which is the goal of so many of Scorsese's characters.


title: Taxi Driver

text: James Berardinelli, in his review of the film, argues against the dream or fantasy interpretation, stating:Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader append the perfect conclusion to "Taxi Driver". Steeped in irony, the five-minute epilogue underscores the vagaries of fate. The media builds Bickle into a hero, when, had he been a little quicker drawing his gun against Senator Palantine, he would have been reviled as an assassin. As the film closes, the misanthrope has been embraced as the model citizen—someone who takes on pimps, drug dealers, and mobsters to save one little girl.


title: Taxi Driver

text: On the LaserDisc audio commentary, Scorsese acknowledged several critics' interpretation of the film's ending as being Bickle's dying dream. He admits that the last scene of Bickle glancing at an unseen object implies that Bickle might fall into rage and recklessness in the future, and he is like "a ticking time bomb". Writer Paul Schrader confirms this in his commentary on the 30th-anniversary DVD, stating that Travis "is not cured by the movie's end", and that "he's not going to be a hero next time." When asked on the website Reddit about the film's ending, Schrader said that it was not to be taken as a dream sequence, but that he envisioned it as returning to the beginning of the film—as if the last frame "could be spliced to the first frame, and the movie started all over again."


title: Taxi Driver

text: The film has also been connected with the 1970s wave of vigilante films and has been noted as a more respectable New Hollywood counterpart to the numerous exploitation vigilante films of the decade. However, despite similarities between "Taxi Driver" and the vigilante films of the 1970s, the film has also been explicitly distinguished as not being a vigilante film or not belonging to the 1970s vigilante film wave.


title: Taxi Driver

text: The film can be viewed as a spiritual successor to "The Searchers". As Roger Ebert pointed out, both films center on a lonely war veteran who attempts to rescue a young girl who does not want to be saved. Both also portray the main character as someone who is alienated from society and who cannot establish normal relationships with people. It is not clear whether Paul Schrader looked for this film specifically for inspiration, but the similarities are apparent.


title: Taxi Driver

text: Some critics have described the film as "neo-noir". It has also been referred to as an antihero film.


title: Taxi Driver

text: Television edits of the film featured a black screen with a disclaimer during the ending credits, mentioning that "the distinction between hero and villain is sometimes a matter of interpretation or misinterpretation of facts". This was thought to have been added after the 1981 Ronald Reagan assassination attempt, but it is mentioned in a review of the film from 1979.


title: Taxi Driver

text: The film opened at the Coronet Theater in New York City and grossed a house record $68,000 in its first week. It went on to gross $28.3 million in the United States, making it the 17th-highest-grossing film of 1976.


title: Taxi Driver

text: The film received critical acclaim. Roger Ebert instantly praised it as one of the greatest films he had ever seen, claiming:


title: Taxi Driver

text: "Taxi Driver" is a hell, from the opening shot of a cab emerging from stygian clouds of steam to the climactic killing scene in which the camera finally looks straight down. Scorsese wanted to look away from Travis's rejection; we almost want to look away from his life. But he's there, all right, and he's suffering.


title: Taxi Driver

text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96% based on 96 reviews and an average rating of 9.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A must-see film for movie lovers, this Martin Scorsese masterpiece is as hard-hitting as it is compelling, with Robert De Niro at his best." Metacritic gives the film a score of 94 out of 100, based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".


title: Taxi Driver

text: "Taxi Driver" was ranked by the American Film Institute as the 52nd-greatest American film on its AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) list, and Bickle was voted the 30th-greatest villain in a poll by the same organization. "The Village Voice" ranked "Taxi Driver" at number 33 in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics. "Empire" also ranked him 18th in its "The 100 Greatest Movie Characters" poll, and the film ranks at No. 17 on the magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.


title: Taxi Driver

text: "Time Out" magazine conducted a poll of the 100 greatest movies set in New York City. "Taxi Driver" topped the list placing at No. 1. Schrader's screenplay for the film was ranked the 43rd-greatest ever written by the Writers Guild of America. By contrast, Leonard Maltin gave a rating of only 2 stars and called the film a "gory, cold-blooded story of a sick man's lurid descent into violence" which was "ugly and unredeeming".


title: Taxi Driver

text: In 2012, in a "Sight & Sound" poll, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi selected "Taxi Driver" as one of his 10 best films of all time.


title: Taxi Driver

text: "Taxi Driver", "American Gigolo", "Light Sleeper", and "The Walker" make up a series referred to variously as the "Man in a Room" or "Night Worker" films. Screenwriter Paul Schrader (who directed the latter three films) has said that he considers the central characters of the four films to be one character, who has changed as he has aged. The film also influenced the Charles Winkler film "You Talkin' to Me?"


title: Taxi Driver

text: The 1994 portrayal of psychopath Albie Kinsella by Robert Carlyle in British television series "Cracker" was in part inspired by Travis Bickle, and Carlyle's performance has frequently been compared to De Niro's as a result.


title: Taxi Driver

text: In the 2012 film "Seven Psychopaths", psychotic Los Angeles actor Billy Bickle (Sam Rockwell) believes himself to be the illegitimate son of Travis Bickle.


title: Taxi Driver

text: The vigilante ending inspired Jacques Audiard for his 2015 Palme d'Or-winning film "Dheepan". The French director based the eponymous Tamil Tiger character on the one played by Robert De Niro in order to make him a "real movie hero". The script of "Joker" by Todd Phillips also draws inspiration from "Taxi Driver".


title: Taxi Driver

text: De Niro's "You talkin' to me?" speech has become a pop culture mainstay. In 2005, it was ranked number 10 on the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.


title: Taxi Driver

text: In the relevant scene, the deranged Bickle is looking into a mirror at himself, imagining a confrontation that would give him a chance to draw his gun:"You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talkin' to? You talkin' to me? Well I'm the only one here. Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?"


title: Taxi Driver

text: While Scorsese said that he drew inspiration from John Huston's 1967 movie "Reflections in a Golden Eye" in a scene in which Marlon Brando's character is facing the mirror, screenwriter Paul Schrader said De Niro improvised the dialogue and that De Niro's performance was inspired by "an underground New York comedian" he had once seen, possibly including his signature line. Roger Ebert said of the latter part of the phrase "I'm the only one here" that it was "the truest line in the film... Travis Bickle's desperate need to make some kind of contact somehow—to share or mimic the effortless social interaction he sees all around him, but does not participate in." In his 2009 memoir, saxophonist Clarence Clemons said that De Niro explained the line's origins during production of "New York, New York" (1977), with the actor seeing Bruce Springsteen say the line onstage at a concert. In the 2000 film "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle", De Niro went on to repeat the monologue with some alterations in the role as the character Fearless Leader.


title: Taxi Driver

text: The first 'Collector's Edition' DVD, released in 1999, was packaged as a single-disc edition release. It contained special features, such as behind-the-scenes and several trailers, including one for "Taxi Driver".


title: Taxi Driver

text: In 2006, a 30th-anniversary 2-disc "Collector's Edition" DVD was released. The first disc contains the film itself, two audio commentaries (one by writer Schrader and the other by Professor Robert Kolker), and trailers. This edition also retains some of the special features from the earlier release on the second disc, as well as some newly produced documentary material.


title: Taxi Driver

text: A Blu-ray was released on April 5, 2011, to commemorate the film's 35th anniversary. It includes the special features from the previous 2-disc collector's edition, plus an audio commentary by Scorsese released in 1991 for the Criterion Collection, previously released on LaserDisc.


title: Taxi Driver

text: As part of the Blu-ray production, Sony gave the film a full 4K digital restoration, which included scanning and cleaning the original negative (removing emulsion dirt and scratches). Colors were matched to director-approved prints under guidance from Scorsese and director of photography Michael Chapman. An all-new lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack was also made from the original stereo recordings by Scorsese's personal sound team. The restored print premiered in February 2011 at the Berlin Film Festival, and to promote the Blu-ray, Sony also had the print screened at AMC Theatres across the United States on March 19 and 22.


title: Taxi Driver

text: In late January 2005, a sequel was announced by De Niro and Scorsese. At a 25th-anniversary screening of "Raging Bull", De Niro talked about the story of an older Travis Bickle being in development. Also in 2000, De Niro mentioned interest in bringing back the character in conversation with Actors Studio host James Lipton. In November 2013, he revealed that Schrader had done a first draft but both he and Scorsese thought that it was not good enough to go beyond.


title: Taxi Driver

text: In 2010, "Variety" reported rumors that Lars von Trier, Scorsese, and De Niro planned to work on a remake of the film with the same restrictions that were used in "The Five Obstructions". In 2014, Paul Schrader said that it was not being made. He said, "It was a terrible idea" and "in Marty's mind, it never was something that should be done."


title: Prabhas

text: Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju (born 23 October 1979), known mononymously as Prabhas (), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. One of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema, Prabhas has featured in "Forbes India"s Celebrity 100 list three times since 2015 based on his income and popularity. He has received seven Filmfare Awards South nominations and is a recipient of the Nandi Award and the SIIMA Award.


title: Prabhas

text: Prabhas made his acting debut with the 2002 Telugu drama "Eeswar", and later attained his breakthrough with the romantic action film "Varsham" (2004). His notable works include "Chatrapathi" (2005), "Bujjigadu" (2008), "Billa" (2009), "Darling" (2010), "Mr. Perfect" (2011), and "Mirchi" (2013). He won the state Nandi Award for Best Actor for his performance in "Mirchi". In 2015, Prabhas starred in the title role in S. S. Rajamouli's epic action film "", which is the fourth-highest-grossing Indian film to date. He later reprised his role in its sequel, "" (2017), which became the first Indian film ever to gross over 1,000 crore (US$155 million) in all languages in just ten days, and is the second highest-grossing Indian film to date.


title: Prabhas

text: In addition to acting in films, Prabhas is also the brand ambassador for the Mahindra TUV300. He is the first Telugu actor to receive a wax sculpture at Madame Tussaud's wax museum.


title: Prabhas

text: Prabhas was born in to film producer Uppalapati Surya Narayana Raju and Siva Kumari. The youngest of the three children, he has a brother, Prabodh and a sister, Pragathi. He is the nephew of Telugu actor Krishnam Raju. His family hails from Mogalthur, near Bhimavaram of West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh.


title: Prabhas

text: Prabhas did his schooling at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai, and at DNR High School, Bhimavaram. He then completed his intermediate education from Nalanda College, Hyderabad. He was then graduated with a B.Tech. degree from Sri Chaitanya College, Hyderabad. He is also an alumnus of Satyanand Film Institute, Visakhapatnam.


title: Prabhas

text: Prabhas started his movie career with "Eeswar" in 2002. In 2003, he was the lead in "Raghavendra". In 2004, he appeared in "Varsham" and "Adavi Raamudu". In 2005, he appeared in "Chakram" and in the film "Chatrapathi", directed by S. S. Rajamouli, in which he portrays the role of a refugee, exploited by goons. It had a 100-day run in 54 centers. "Idlebrain.com" stated that he had a unique style and macho charm in his screen presence. Later he acted in "Pournami", "Yogi" and "Munna", an action-drama film came out in 2007, followed by the action-comedy "Bujjigadu" in 2008. In 2009 his two films were "Billa" and "Ek Niranjan". Indiaglitz called "Billa" stylish and visually rich.


title: Prabhas

text: In 2010 he appeared in the romantic comedy "Darling". The film opened to positive reviews. "The Times of India" gave a two and half star rating explaining "Director Karunakaran extracts good performances from his actors, but can't come up with a refreshing plot. It looks like the director hasn't really come out of his "Tholi Prema" hangover as he dishes out yet another one-sided love saga but fails to come up with a valid and logical reason to make a Gen Z lad to hold back his feelings for his lover until the last moment. However, he compensates it all, by adding loads of fun moments in the film and the screenplay does have its share of some touching moments." In 2011, he appeared in "Mr. Perfect", another romantic comedy. The review site GreatAndhra rated the film with three stars and noted "The film comes across as a clean, family entertainer and the intention of the makers must be appreciated.


title: Prabhas

text: In 2012, Prabhas starred in "Rebel", an action film directed by Raghava Lawrence. Sashidhar from "The Times of India" stated, "The film belongs to hard-core Prabhas fans as the movie is stylish and visually rich but not much in content". Purnima Ranawat from NDTV said, "Rebel serves up fare for the mass audience. The film will be definitely liked by Prabhas' fans. Watch it for the dancing talent of Tamannaah Bhatia and action skills of Prabhas." Radhika Rajamani from "Rediff.com" gave the movie one and half stars out of five and said, "Working with hardly any storyline, director Raghava Lawrence had made a film that is arduous to watch... Rebel is a movie for the masses and certainly not for the discerning audience." He rendered voice for a short cameo for the film "Denikaina Ready" (2012).


title: Prabhas

text: In 2013, Prabhas starred in "Mirchi". Jeevi of "Idlebrain.com" gave a rating of 3.25 out of 5, commenting that "First half of "Mirchi" is decent. Flashback episode which occupies 100% of second half is good. Climax could have been better. The plus points of the film are Prabhas, music and all-round orientation. On a whole, "Mirchi" has all the ingredients of a commercial potboiler". Mahesh S Koneru gave his verdict that "At the Box Office, the film will turn in a good commercial performance", giving the film a score of 3.25/5. Way2movies also gave a rating of 3.25/5, giving the verdict that "Prabhas rocks the show in this decent yet formulaic commercial entertainer". Super good movies gave the film 3 stars in a scale of 5, reviewing that "Go and Watch "Mirchi", It entertains both Class and Mass. It is a worth watch." Prabhas made his Hindi cinema debut in 2014 by doing a cameo role in the item number "Punjabi Mast" from the film "Action Jackson".


title: Prabhas

text: In 2015, Prabhas appeared as Shivudu/Mahendra Baahubali and Amarendra Baahubali in S.S. Rajamouli's epic "" which is the fourth-highest-grossing Indian film to date. The film started a new film movement named Pan-India films. Prabhas reprised his role in its sequel, "" (2017), which became the first Indian film ever to gross over 1,000 crore (US$155 million) in all languages in just ten days, and is the second highest-grossing Indian film to date. He won the SIIMA Award for Best Actor (Telugu) for his performance in "The Conclusion." He increased his weight to 105 kg for Baahubali's character.


title: Prabhas

text: The success of "Baahubali" has propelled Prabhas to become a pan-Indian actor, receiving significant following in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi languages.


title: Prabhas

text: In 2019, Prabhas starred in Sujeeth-directed action thriller "Saaho". Despite receiving unfavourable reviews, the film went on to gross over 433 crore. Later in 2022, Prabhas starred in the period romance film "Radhe Shyam" directed by Radha Krishna Kumar which received mixed reviews.


title: Prabhas

text: , Prabhas has three films under various stages of production. The first of which is the Prashanth Neel-directed action film "Salaar." He has completed shooting for "Adipurush", an adaptation of the Hindu epic Ramayana where he plays the role of "Rama". The film helmed by director Om Raut also stars Saif Ali Khan. He also started filming for Nag Ashwin's untitled sci fi film, tentatively titled "Project K" where he stars alongside Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan"." His 25th film "Spirit" was announced in October 2021. Directed Sandeep Reddy Vanga was signed as its director under the production of UV Creations, T-Series and Bhadrakali Pictures.


title: Prabhas

text: Prabhas, who has been signed on by Mahindra & Mahindra as brand ambassador for the new Mahindra TUV300 car, has made his debut in the television commercial arena with their new ad in 2015. He generally does not endorse brands frequently. "News 18" reported that he rejected brand endorsements worth in 2020.


title: Prabhas

text: Prabhas is often referred as "Darling" or "Pan-India star". He was ranked second in Times' Most Desirable Men for the year 2017, and twelfth in 2018. He was then added to the Forever Desirable list of "Hyderabad Times" in 2019. He was the most searched actor on Google in Karnataka, for the year 2019. He is the only actor from south cinema to feature in the magazine "Eastern Eye" 2019 listing of the 10 Sexiest Asian Men. He was also featured in the "GQ" in their listing of the most influential young Indians of 2017. In 2021, he has been named the ‘Most Handsome Asian Male’ in the "Fancy Odds" annual list.


title: Prabhas

text: Pooja Dhar of "Pinkvilla" cited him as "one of the most humble and down to earth Indian actors" in her article. In September 2020, Prabhas adopted 1650 acres of land in Khazipally Reserve Forest, and made additional donations for the development of the eco-park in the name of his late father.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Thor: Ragnarok is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to "Thor" (2011) and "" (2013), and is the 17th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Taika Waititi from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and the writing team of Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor alongside Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins. In "Thor: Ragnarok", Thor must escape the alien planet Sakaar in time to save Asgard from Hela (Blanchett) and the impending Ragnarök.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: A third "Thor" film was confirmed in January 2014, when Kyle and Yost began work on the screenplay. The involvement of Hemsworth and Hiddleston was announced that October. Waititi joined the film as director a year later, after "Thor: The Dark World" director Alan Taylor chose not to return. Ruffalo joined the cast reprising the role of Hulk from previous MCU films, which allowed elements of the 2006 comic storyline "Planet Hulk" to be adapted for "Ragnarok". The rest of the cast, including Blanchett as Hela, was confirmed in May 2016, with Pearson's involvement revealed at the start of filming that July. Principal photography took place in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia, with the film also having exclusive use of Village Roadshow Studios in Oxenford, concluding in October 2016.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: "Thor: Ragnarok" premiered in Los Angeles on October 10, 2017, and was released in the United States on November 3, 2017, as part of of the MCU. The film received praise for its acting and Waititi's direction, as well as the action sequences, visual effects, musical score, and humor, with many critics considering it to be the best installment of the "Thor" franchise. It grossed $854million, becoming the highest-grossing film of the series and the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2017. A sequel, "", was released on July 8, 2022.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Two years after the battle of Sokovia, Thor is imprisoned by the fire demon Surtur, who reveals that Thor's father Odin is no longer on Asgard. He explains that the realm will soon be destroyed during the prophesied Ragnarök, once Surtur unites his crown with the Eternal Flame that burns in Odin's vault. Thor frees himself, defeats Surtur and takes his crown, believing he has prevented Ragnarök.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Thor returns to Asgard to find Heimdall gone and his estranged brother Loki posing as Odin. After exposing Loki, Thor forces him to help find their father, and with directions from Stephen Strange at the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York City, they locate Odin in Norway. Odin explains that he is dying, Ragnarök is imminent despite Thor's efforts to prevent it, and his passing will free his firstborn child, Hela, from a prison she was sealed in long ago. Hela was the leader of Asgard's armies, conquering the Nine Realms with Odin, but he imprisoned her and wrote her out of history after fearing that she had become too ambitious and powerful.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Odin dies as Thor and Loki look on, and Hela appears, destroying Thor's hammer Mjolnir. She pursues the two as they attempt to flee through the Bifröst Bridge, forcing them out into space. Arriving in Asgard, she defeats its army and kills the Warriors Three. She then resurrects the ancient dead who once fought with her, including her giant wolf Fenris, and appoints the Asgardian Skurge as her executioner. Hela plans to use the Bifröst to expand Asgard's empire, but Heimdall sneaks in, takes the sword that controls the Bifrost, and begins hiding other Asgardians. Thor crash-lands on Sakaar, a garbage planet surrounded by wormholes.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: A slave trader designated Scrapper 142 subdues him with an obedience disk and sells him as a gladiator to Sakaar's ruler, the Grandmaster, with whom Loki has already ingratiated himself. Thor recognizes 142 as a Valkyrie, one of a legendary force of female warriors who were killed fighting Hela eons ago. Thor is forced to compete in the Grandmaster's Contest of Champions, facing his old friend Hulk. Summoning lightning, Thor gets the upper hand, but the Grandmaster sabotages the fight to ensure Hulk's victory. Still enslaved after the fight, Thor attempts to convince Hulk and 142 to help him save Asgard, but neither is willing.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: He soon manages to escape the palace and finds the Quinjet that brought the Hulk to Sakaar. Hulk follows Thor to the Quinjet, where a recording of Natasha Romanoff causes him to transform back into Bruce Banner for the first time since Sokovia. The Grandmaster orders 142 and Loki to find Thor and Hulk, but the pair come to blows and Loki forces her to relive the deaths of her Valkyrie companions at the hands of Hela. Deciding to help Thor, she takes Loki captive. Unwilling to be left behind, Loki provides the group with the means to steal one of the Grandmaster's ships. They then liberate the other gladiators who, incited by two aliens named Korg and Miek, stage a revolution. Loki again attempts to betray his brother, but Thor anticipates this and incapacitates him, leaving him behind where Korg, Miek, and the gladiators soon find him.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Thor, Banner, and 142 escape through a wormhole to Asgard, where Hela's forces attack Heimdall and the remaining Asgardians in pursuit of the sword that controls the Bifröst. Banner transforms into Hulk again, defeating Fenris, while Thor and 142 fight Hela and her warriors. Loki and the gladiators arrive to rescue the citizens, and a repentant Skurge sacrifices himself to enable their escape. Thor, facing Hela, loses his right eye and then has a vision of Odin that helps him realize only Ragnarök can stop her. He sends Loki to retrieve Surtur's crown and place it in the Eternal Flame. Surtur is reborn and destroys Asgard, killing Hela as the refugees flee. Aboard the Grandmaster's spaceship, Thor, now king, reconciles with Loki and decides to take his people to Earth.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: In a mid-credits scene, they are intercepted by a large spacecraft. In a post-credits scene, the overthrown Grandmaster is confronted by his former subjects.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Additionally, Tadanobu Asano, Ray Stevenson, and Zachary Levi reprise their roles as Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral, respectively, members of the Warriors Three. Feige called their appearances "noble ends" that served to establish the threat of Hela and the danger she poses to the main characters. Benedict Cumberbatch reprises his role as Dr. Stephen Strange from the film "Doctor Strange" (2016) on a brief appearance. Rachel House, who has appeared in several of Waititi's films, plays Topaz, the Grandmaster's chief enforcer, while Waititi portrays Korg, a Kronan gladiator who befriends Thor. Waititi provided a motion-capture performance for the character, who is made of rocks, and wanted to do something different by having the character be soft-spoken, ultimately basing Korg's voice on that of Polynesian bouncers, as well as his friend and frequent co-star, Rhys Darby. Waititi also provided the motion-capture performance for the fire demon Surtur, based on the mythological being Surtr, with Clancy Brown voicing the character. Thor and Hulk co-creator Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance as a man on Sakaar who cuts Thor's hair. There are also several cameos in a sequence where Asgardian actors perform a play based on the events of "The Dark World": Sam Neill, with whom Waititi previously worked on "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" (2016), plays the Odin actor; Luke Hemsworth, brother of Chris, plays the Thor actor; and Matt Damon plays the Loki actor. Scarlett Johansson appears as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow through archival footage from "".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: While promoting the release of "Thor: The Dark World" in October 2013, Chris Hemsworth expressed willingness to portray Thor for as long as "people wanted more", adding that he was contracted for another "Thor" film and two more "Avengers" films. Producer Kevin Feige stated that the next "Thor" would build from elements at the end of "The Dark World". In January 2014, Marvel announced that Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost would write the screenplay for a third film, with Feige again producing; the story was being outlined that July. At the end of October 2014, Feige announced that the film would be titled "Thor: Ragnarok", with a scheduled release date of July 28, 2017. Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston were set to return as Thor and Loki, respectively. Hemsworth earned $15million for the film. Feige added that the film would be "very important" in of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and also confirmed that, in the context of the film, the word Ragnarok means "the end of all things". He felt that "people will [not] read into that title alone what the movie's going to be."


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: In February 2015, Marvel pushed back the release date to November 3, 2017. That April, Feige was expecting a draft for the film soon, and a month later he stated that a director, additional screenwriter, and further casting announcements would be revealed "towards the end of the summer", with filming set for June 2016. "The Dark World" director Alan Taylor explained that he would not be returning, as "the Marvel experience was particularly wrenching because I was sort of given absolute freedom while we were shooting, and then in [post-production] it turned into a different movie. So, that is something I hope never to repeat and don't wish upon anybody else." During the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International, Jaimie Alexander said that she would reprise her role as Sif in "a very pivotal part" of the film.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: By October 2015, Taika Waititi had entered negotiations to direct "Thor: Ragnarok". Other directors under consideration included Ruben Fleischer, Rob Letterman, and Rawson Marshall Thurber. Marvel presented the prospective directors with "the ten different ideas that we had for the movie", asking them all to come back with a clearer picture of what the film should be. Waititi created "a sizzle reel for the tone, and some joke stuff" using clips from other films, including "Big Trouble in Little China". Despite being a discouraged practice within the company, Marvel considered Waititi's reel to be "amazing", particularly its use of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" for the score, which Feige felt "defined what Taika was going to do with this". The song was later used in the film itself, and for marketing it. On why he decided to pursue directing the film, after stating in 2012 that he had no interest in "big features, where the art of the project was sacrificed for profit", Waititi said he felt "like a guest in Marvel's universe but with the creative freedom to do what I want". Waititi was confirmed as director of the film by multiple news outlets later in October.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: In the same month, Mark Ruffalo was also finalizing a deal to reprise his role as Bruce Banner / Hulk from previous MCU films, which was confirmed shortly after. Hulk was last seen at the end of "Avengers: Age of Ultron" traveling in a Quinjet, which was originally planned to be shown flying near Saturn. Feige explained that this was changed to an Earth-based location to leave Hulk's fate ambiguous and dispel rumors that a film based on "Planet Hulk" was in development, since Marvel Studios had no plans to adapt the storyline at the time. According to executive producer Brad Winderbaum, the idea to include Hulk in "Ragnarok" came early on in development, when the production team looked at the "Planet Hulk" storyline and felt it was a "no brainer" to integrate Hulk into the "Thor" franchise, exploring "the idea of a planet where there's gladiatorial games as a Thor predicament. [That storyline] was a really cool idea to us." Feige further explained that initial discussions had focused on doing "something totally different with Thor", and that centered on continuing the relationship with Loki and ideas for Hela, Valkyrie, Balder, and Beta Ray Bill, "but we were like, 'We need something big. This turned to discussing Thor going to space, and jokingly calling it "Planet Thor", which led to including Hulk in the film and revealing that he ultimately went to space at the end of "Age of Ultron".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Also in October, Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop announced that filming would take place in the country, exclusively throughout the state of Queensland, including at Village Roadshow Studios in Oxenford, Gold Coast. According to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, the production was to spend over $100million in Queensland and employ 750 Queenslanders. Hemsworth had asked Marvel to produce the film in his home country of Australia. At the end of November 2015, Stellan Skarsgård, who portrayed Erik Selvig in the previous "Thor" films, said that he was contracted to appear should Marvel want to include him, but he was uncertain at the time if they did. He later confirmed that he would not appear in "Thor: Ragnarok". The next month, Stephany Folsom was hired to work on the script, and Cate Blanchett entered final negotiations to join the cast.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: In January 2016, with the film beginning pre-production, Ruffalo described it as a "road movie" and indicated that additional filming would take place in Sydney. Waititi stated that he was working on the script "a little bit", mainly adding humor to the screenplay, with Eric Pearson joining the project to rewrite the screenplay. Pearson felt joining presented many challenges, as "there were so many puzzle pieces already there," such as having Blanchett as Hela, who was confirmed in the role a month later, and including Hulk, Valkyrie, and Skurge, that he was asked to assemble. Pearson was told not to be restrained by anything from the previous films, and Waititi asked him to make the film fun and have Thor "be the coolest character." Alexander said in early March that she was no longer sure if she would appear in the film, due to scheduling conflicts with her television series "Blindspot". She later indicated that this may not be the case, but ultimately was unable to appear in the film due to the conflict. Sif does appear as a character in the play based on the events of "The Dark World", portrayed by Charlotte Nicdao.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: In April, Tessa Thompson was cast as Valkyrie, with Natalie Portman not returning from the previous films as love interest Jane Foster. Marvel never asked the screenwriters to include the Earth-based characters from the previous films, and Feige said that Foster and Thor have broken up between films. In May, Marvel confirmed Blanchett and Thompson for the film, announced the casting of Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster and Karl Urban as Skurge, and revealed that Idris Elba and Anthony Hopkins would reprise their respective roles of Heimdall and Odin from the previous films. In early June, Palaszczuk and Marvel Studios executive David Grant announced that filming would begin on July 4, 2016, with Weta Workshop creating props for the film. Before the sets for Marvel's "Doctor Strange" were demolished, Waititi wrote and filmed a scene for "Ragnarok" where Thor meets Benedict Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange. Marvel and "Doctor Strange" director Scott Derrickson felt the scene was "kind of perfect" to show Strange joining the wider MCU, so the scene also appears during the credits of "Doctor Strange".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Feige noted that "Thor: Ragnarok" would primarily take place in the "cosmos" rather than on Earth, a departure from the previous "Thor" films. He expanded by saying, "Tonally and geographically there are a lot of different planets outside of the nine realms that we visit" in the film. Waititi consulted with theoretical physicist Clifford Johnson on space travel. Johnson viewed early drafts of the script, and gave Waititi physics ideas that could "wink at some of the classic old [Thor] stuff"; Johnson previously consulted on the second season of the MCU television series "Agent Carter". Astronomer-physicist Adam Frank was also a consultant on the film, advising on wormholes and interstellar travel. Comic artist and Thor co-creator Jack Kirby was one of Waititi's major visual inspirations for the film. Winderbaum also called Walt Simonson's "Ragnarok" story arc an inspiration for "really fun elements ... both stylistically and narratively", as well as "Thor: God of Thunder" by Jason Aaron, which was the inspiration for Hela's design and abilities. Waititi said the planet Sakaar, which is featured in the "Planet Hulk" storyline, was "the biggest shift for the film and these characters", with Winderbaum describing it as "the toilet of the universe", surrounded by "wormholes that have been spitting things out into this place for eons". Also featured is Muspelheim, one of the Nine Realms, ruled by Surtur. Production designer Dan Hennah described it as a Dyson sphere, with the realm drawing power out of a dying star to energize its inhabitants. Hennah hoped to give Asgard "more of a humanity" than in previous films, by adding smaller building perspectives to help the realm seem more practical and utilitarian. For Saakar's gladiator arena, Hennah looked at Roman gladiators, but differentiated from previous similar ideas by going "all alien with it". The arena is surrounded by "standing up bleachers".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Waititi said that the film would reinvent the franchise, as "a lot of what we're doing with the film is, in a way, kind of dismantling and destroying the old idea and rebuilding it in a new way that's fresh. Everyone's got a slightly new take on their characters, so in that way, it feels like [this is] the first "Thor" (2011)." He added that he had seen the other films and respected them, but wanted to focus on making a "standalone film because this could be the only time I do this. I just want to make it [my] version of a Marvel film in the best way possible." This is something Hemsworth had hoped for, looking to have a lighter tone in "Ragnarok" compared to the previous "Thor" films, especially the second one, similar to "Guardians of the Galaxy". He said, "I feel we had less of the sort of the naivety or fun or humor that the first ["Thor"] might have had. I wish we had more of that in the second [movie] ... We've done regal. We've done Shakespeare, and we've shown that. I think now it's time to go, 'Ok, cool. Let's try something different. Hemsworth continued that in order to prevent the character or film from becoming "predictable", there was "definitely a goal to do something unexpected...I think we want to get back to more of a sense of adventure and fun".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: The events of "Ragnarok" are set four years after the events of "Thor: The Dark World", two years after the events of "Avengers: Age of Ultron", and around the same time as the events of "" (2016) and "" (2017), with Winderbaum noting that "things happen on top of each other now in Phase Three." The events of "Ragnarok" also set up "Avengers: Infinity War", and Hemsworth spoke to "Infinity War" directors Anthony and Joe Russo before receiving the script for "Ragnarok" to see how it would link to "Infinity War". He said "Ragnarok" "definitely bleeds nicely into those [films]", and Winderbaum likened "Ragnarok"s impact on the larger MCU to that of "" (2014), saying it would break down ideas regarding Asgard that were previously established similar "to how "Winter Soldier" broke down S.H.I.E.L.D."


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Principal photography began on July 4, 2016, under the working title "Creature Report", at Village Roadshow Studios in Oxenford, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, exclusively using all nine of the studios' sound stages. Additional filming was to occur throughout the state of Queensland, including Tamborine National Park. The Brisbane central business district, where filming took place from August 22 to 25, was used to double as New York City. Javier Aguirresarobe served as cinematographer on the film, describing his work on the film as "a rare combination of satisfaction and frustration", feeling that he was mostly there to service the director and visual effects supervisor, but felt "very happy to have been able to respond to such incredible technical requirements".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Later in July, regarding the film's "buddy-style comedy" nature, Waititi said that the script had changed from then and it was still unclear what the final film would look like, but there "are buddy elements to it between Thor and the Hulk". He said it would be a 70s/'80s sci-fi fantasy" and "the most 'out there' of all the Marvel movies", with the tone closest to that of "Big Trouble in Little China". Inspiration for the road-trip aspect of the film included "48 Hrs." (1982), "Withnail and I" (1987), and "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987). Waititi also asked the heads of each department to watch "Flash Gordon" (1980) before beginning work. Concept art released at San Diego Comic Con 2016 revealed that the character Fenris Wolf would appear.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: By August, over 100 set and construction workers were given termination notifications, with some complaining that they had been promised work until October or November 2016, and that New Zealand crew members were receiving preferential treatment over the Australian locals. However, Premier Palaszczuk stated that the work for set builders simply "finished", and that other jobs would become available as actors arrived for filming. Sets constructed for the film were for Sakaar, including the Grandmaster's palace and surrounding junkyard, as well as Asgard (based on the aesthetics of the previous "Thor" films). The interior of the Avenger Quinjet, which was built for "The Avengers" (2012), was shipped to Australia. Waititi, who is Māori, made hiring Indigenous and Aboriginal Australians, along with New Zealanders, a priority for the various departments, saying, "It's a responsibility you have to the Indigenous people. You're coming to a country and you're bringing money into the economy and creating jobs but I think you have an even bigger responsibility to look after the people that have less opportunities." He added that having these people on the crew "feel[s] very much like family" and "helps calm me down and makes me feel relaxed". The Indigenous and Aboriginals were hired as part of an initiative by Screen Australia's Indigenous Department, whose mission is "to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders a foot in the door of the film industry".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: In mid-September 2016, concept art seen during a set visit indicated Midgard Serpent would appear, and that Sif and the Warriors Three, allies of Thor in the previous two films, would be addressed in "Ragnarok". Towards the end of the month, Sam Neill, who worked with Waititi in "Hunt for the Wilderpeople", revealed he had a role in the film. Shortly after, Waititi teased the inclusion of the characters Korg, who Waititi portrays through motion-capture, and Miek, who is not portrayed by an actor as he does not speak in the film, and is depicted as "a larva-like creature... [with] cybernetic legs and arms". In mid-October, Waititi revealed that new camera technology had been used for a shot in the film, and that he had hoped to include John C. Reilly's Nova Corpsman Rhomann Dey in the film, but there was "no real way to pull it off". Principal photography wrapped on October 28, 2016. Second unit filming took place on Dirk Hartog Island off the coast of Western Australia, and in the South Island of New Zealand. According to Waititi, 80 percent of the dialogue in "Thor: Ragnarok" was improvised, in order to create a "very loose and collaborate mood" among the cast, and as an attempt to replicate the tone and sensibility from his previous films. He stated, "My style of working is I'll often be behind the camera, or right next to the camera yelling words at people, like, 'Say this, say this! Say it this way!


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: In January 2017, it was revealed that Pearson would receive sole screenwriting credit on the film, with the story credited to Kyle, Yost, and Folsom. These credits were later updated the following September, with Pearson as the screenwriter and story credit for Kyle and Yost. Folsom took issue with Marvel marketing the film with these credits, noting the Writers Guild of America (WGA) had yet to determine the final credits for the film. She later said that Marvel had given her a story credit on the film, but it was denied by the WGA due to their regulation that a maximum of two individuals can receive story credit, with an allowance for a writing team to count as one individual; Pearson and the team of Kyle and Yost received the story credit on "Ragnarok". Folsom added that she planned to appeal the decision, and that Marvel has been supportive of her throughout her attempt to receive credit. By the end of the month, the writing credits were updated once again, this time simply crediting Pearson, Kyle, and Yost as screenwriters.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: In February 2017, Rachel House said she had a small role in the film, having worked with Waititi before. Additional filming took place in Atlanta in July 2017, over three weeks, including filming post-credit scenes. One of these introduces the spaceship "Sanctuary II", which belongs to Thanos in "Avengers: Infinity War", while the other, shown at the end of the credits, features the Grandmaster. Goldblum and Waititi improvised multiple versions of the latter scene; one unused version involved the singing of the Sakaarian national anthem, which was "made up on the spot". Also filmed in Atlanta was the completion of a sequence where Asgardian actors perform a play based on the events of "The Dark World". Neill appears in the sequence as the Odin actor, and Hemsworth's brother Luke portrays the Thor actor. Explaining the sequence, Waititi said, "if I was Loki and I was ruling Asgard, I would write a play about myself and force everyone to go and see it—change the details of the play and get a huge celebrity to play myself." For the Loki actor, they "really wanted someone good and someone who's funny", and Chris Hemsworth suggested that Matt Damon, whom he knew personally, take on the role. Damon was in New York City at the time, and flew to Atlanta just to shoot the cameo "on a lark". Also changed during reshoots was the location of the sequence where Thor and Loki find Odin on Earth, and Hela subsequently destroys Mjolnir. Originally set in a New York City alley, Waititi decided that the environment was distracting from the emotions of the sequence. The location was changed to Norway, which Waititi felt gave more weight to the scenes, made Odin's storyline more "authentic", and also allowed the characters and the audience to "chill out for a second, and have that moment, because the rest of the film basically just runs at a clip".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: By the time the reshoots for the film were completed, the film had been cut down from Waititi's initial version of two hours and forty minutes to around ninety minutes, with that expected to increase slightly with the newly filmed scenes. However, after the film's 2017 Comic Con panel, it was decided to add back a lot of the jokes that had been removed, with the final runtime being two hours and ten minutes. Joel Negron and Zene Baker served as editors on the film. Waititi described the process of deciding exactly what jokes to keep as "very tricky ... sometimes it would be funny in the beginning of the film and then not funny at all [or] it was funny in the wrong places and in the end, we had to just keep testing jokes and testing parts of the film". "Ragnarok" also clarifies that an Infinity Gauntlet seen in "Thor" was a fake. Feige expanded, saying that it had been included in "Thor" as an easter egg, since Marvel Studios was "working on "The Avengers" and trying to [put] that all together for the conclusion of ." However, shortly after "The Avengers" released and the studio began to solidify plans for "Avengers: Infinity War", they realized that the gauntlet seen in "Thor" could not be the actual one, creating an internal theory that it was fake; this resulted in the scene in "Ragnarok", which was created "just [to have] the opportunity to call it a fake".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Visual effects for the film were created by Industrial Light & Magic's (ILM) San Francisco and Vancouver studios, with help from Base FX, Animatrik, and Virtuos; Framestore; Method Studios Vancouver; Digital Domain; Rising Sun Pictures; Luma Pictures; D Negative; Iloura; Image Engine; Trixter; The Secret Lab; WhiskeyTree Inc; Fin Designs + Effects; and Perception. Previsualization work was provided by The Third Floor and Day for Nite. Luma Pictures produced over 200 shoots in eight sequences, particularly for the characters Korg (receiving assets from Framestore) and Miek. Method Studios provided over 450 shots, including Thor's opening fight against Surtur in Muspelheim and Hela's fight against the Asgardian guards. D Negative worked on over 190 shots, creating the environment for the planet Sakaar, including its junkyard landscape and wormholes, with the wormholes also created through a collaboration with Digital Domain. The film's main-on-end title sequence was designed by Perception.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: ILM, who worked on previous incarnations of the Hulk, had to add much more detail to the character's facial features in "Ragnarok" due to the Hulk's increased dialogue. ILM visual effects supervisor Chad Wiebe explained that Ruffalo's expressions were captured fresh for the film using Medusa, a performance capture technology. With 90 different expressions captured, ILM "built an entirely new library that would allow [Hulk] to cover a full range of normal human visual characteristics." To help create the Hulk, a person on set was covered in green body paint, and would replicate the intended motions of the character to aid the visual effect artists. Additionally, stunt actor Paul Lowe, who is under tall, stood in for Hemsworth during some of his interactions with the Hulk so that the Hulk's stuntmen would be proportionally correct. In some instances when Thor and the Hulk interacted, a digital double was used for Thor, also created by ILM, to have greater flexibility for the shots. ILM worked on all of the Hulk moments in the film outside the final fight sequence, which was completed by Framestore using ILM's assets, as Framestore was primarily responsible for rigging that sequence. Framestore completed nearly 460 shots, which featured digital doubles of Thor and Hela, Fenris, Korg, Miek, the giant Surtur at the end of the film, and over 9,000 buildings for Asgard, based on assets D Negative had from "The Dark World", resulting in over 263 character, vehicle, prop, and crowd rigs.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Rising Sun Pictures produced more than 170 visual effects shots for "Thor: Ragnarok". They worked on the Valkyrie flashback sequence, with the sequence's surreal ethereal appearance achieved through a combination of motion capture, computer graphics, a 900 fps high-speed frame rate, and a special 360-degree lighting rig containing 200 strobe lights to bathe the scene in undulating patterns of light and shadow. Rising Sun also helped create the various CGI aspects of Hela, such as her "hair wipe transition" to her horns, and her original introduction in New York City. Following the reshoots, ImageEngine completed the new Norway introduction since Rising Sun was focused on the palace fight by then.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: By August 2016, Mark Mothersbaugh was hired to score the film. The synthesized score is influenced by the work of Jean-Michel Jarre. Waititi stated he would have asked the band Queen to work on the soundtrack for the film if their lead singer Freddie Mercury was still alive, because the film is "a cool, bold, colorful cosmic adventure" which would have suited the "feel" of the band. Additional music featured in the film include "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin and "Pure Imagination" from the film "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" (1971). Patrick Doyle's themes from "Thor" and Brian Tyler's themes from "The Dark World" and "Avengers: Age of Ultron", as well as Joe Harnell's "The Lonely Man" theme from "The Incredible Hulk" series, are also used in the film. Hollywood Records released the film's soundtrack digitally on October 20, 2017, and physically on November 10, 2017.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: At the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, a physical model of Hulk's gladiator armor was revealed, concept art and rough animatics were shown, and a "mockumentary" short titled "Team Thor" was screened. Directed by Waititi, it showed what Thor and Banner were doing during the events of "Civil War", with Daley Pearson appearing as Thor's Australian flatmate Darryl Jacobson. The short was released online in August 2016, and with the digital download of "Captain America: Civil War" the following month. "" was released on the home media of "Doctor Strange" in February 2017, with Pearson reprising his role. Footage and concept art for the film were shown at CinemaCon 2017.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: On April 10, 2017, the first teaser trailer was released. Sandy Schaefer of Screen Rant felt it was "a strong start" for the film, having "a distinctly playful vibe" by setting it to "Immigrant Song". "The Verge"s Chaim Gartenberg said "this may be the weirdest Marvel movie to date" thanks to the costumes, makeup, and '80s aesthetic. Michael Arbeiter for Nerdist was pleased with the teaser, stating, "nothing in the MCU thus far can hold a candle to the imagination promised by this "..." have any of [the previous MCU films] felt this beholden to what we've always known and loved as the "adventure" genre?" The teaser was viewed 136 million times in 24 hours, the third-highest in that time frame, behind "The Fate of the Furious" (139million) and "It" (197million). It also became Disney and Marvel's most viewed trailer within that time period, surpassing "Beauty and the Beast" (127million) and "Captain America: Civil War" (94 million), respectively. The line from the trailer of Thor saying Hulk "is a friend from work" was suggested to Hemsworth by a Make-A-Wish child visiting the set on the day the scene was filmed.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Props and costumes from the film were on display at D23 Expo 2017 along with set pieces for photo opportunities. The costumes were also on display at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con, where Waititi and cast members promoted the film. Exclusive clips were shown, along with a new trailer. Ethan Anderton of /Film felt "the blend of comedy and bright, vibrant comic book action" in the trailer was "incredible". Collider's Haleigh Foutch was "in love with this trailer" and "all in" on the film. Germain Lussier for io9 called the trailer "a two-and-a-half-minute ball of action, awesomeness, humor, and insanity that may be the most purely Marvel movie trailer we've ever seen." The poster also released was praised, being called by Anthony Couto from Comic Book Resources as "quite stunning", "insanely colorful", and "perfectly symmetrical", with Matt Goldberg of Collider feeling it "really [lets] you know that this "Thor" movie is going to be radically different than the first two". Due to the Comic-Con presentation, "Thor: Ragnarok" generated over 264,000 new conversations on social media from July 17 to 23, the most out of any film during that time period, according to Comscore and its PreAct service. It remained the most-discussed film on social media for two more weeks.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: In August 2017, Marvel partnered with car manufacturer Renault on a commercial supporting the release of the Kwid in Brazil. Directed by Jonathan Gurvit and shot in São Paulo, it features the Hulk destroying a satellite headed towards the city. Framestore worked on visual effects for the commercial, building on the foundation they had from working on the character in previous films. Also in August, Marvel, in partnership with Dolby Laboratories, Synchrony Bank, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Broadcom Masters, and Society for Science & the Public, announced the "Superpower of STEM Challenge", aimed at females aged 15 through 18 in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education) fields, to "create an original Do-It-Yourself project that can be replicated by others" and "help their family, community or the world be safer, healthier or happier". Five winners would attend the film's world premiere, receive a tour of Walt Disney Studios, and a $500 saving account from Synchrony Bank, with one grand prize winner attending "an immersive three-day mentorship in New York City with Disney Imagineering" to create a "professional-level video teaching other young people how to recreate" their winning project. They were also given the opportunity to demonstrate the project on "Good Morning America".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: For the week of August 21, "Ragnarok" once again had the most social media conversations, according to comScore and its PreAct service. New clips of Thor and Hulk fighting, released on the same day as the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor fight, helped generate the 57,000 new conversations for the week. From September 25 to October 15, "Ragnarok" had the second-most social media conversations according to the service, and was once again first for the week of October 16 following the release of extended clips and plot details. Beginning October 6, 2017, Disney California Adventure showed a sneak peek of the film at the Sunset Showcase Theater in Hollywood Land, presented in 3D with "special in-theater effects". Ahead of the United States release of the film, Hemsworth, Hiddleston, Blanchett, Goldblum, Ruffalo, and Thompson appeared with James Corden on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" to present a "4D" version of the film, which was actually a stage play. The cast performed various scenes from the film live in low-budget costumes and with cardboard stage props. Additional promotional partners of the film included Red Robin, United Healthcare, and Screenvision Media.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: "Thor: Ragnarok" had its world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on October 10, 2017, and its Australian premiere took place on October 13, on the Gold Coast. It was released in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2017, with additional international releases on October 25, and in Australia on October 26. The film was released in the United States and Canada on November 3, in 4,080 theaters, of which over 3,400 were 3D, 381 were IMAX and IMAX 3D, and 204 were D-Box. The film opened in 1,187 IMAX theaters globally, which was a November opening weekend record. It was originally scheduled for release on July 28, 2017. "Thor: Ragnarok" is part of Phase Three of the MCU.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: "Thor: Ragnarok" was released on digital download by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on February 20, 2018, and on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD and On-Demand on March 6. The digital and Blu-ray releases include behind-the-scenes featurettes; audio commentary; deleted scenes; a blooper reel; and "Team Darryl", a continuation of the "mockumentary" short films "Team Thor" and "Team Thor: Part 2", in which the Grandmaster moves in with Darryl after Thor leaves. In one of the deleted scenes, Michael Rooker makes an appearance as Yondu, reprising the role from the first two "Guardians of the Galaxy" films. James Gunn, writer and director of the "Guardians" films, clarified that Yondu was never meant to appear in the final film, and that Rooker was on a nearby set recording material for the Halloween variant of the theme park attraction ; and decided to stop by the "Ragnarok" set "to goof around".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: The film debuted at number one on the NPD VideoScan overall disc sales chart during its first week of release, which tracks combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc unit sales, and a dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart. Blu-ray accounted for 83% of unit sales, with 11% coming from Ultra HD Blu-ray. "Thor: Ragnarok" also debuted second on the Media Play News rental chart behind "Coco". In its second week, the film fell to number two on the NPD VideoScan chart, coming in behind "Justice League", but rose to number one on the Media Play News rental chart. The IMAX Enhanced version of the film was made available on Disney+ beginning on November 12, 2021.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: "Thor: Ragnarok" grossed $315.1million in the United States and Canada, and $538.9million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $854million. In September 2017, a survey from Fandango indicated that "Ragnarok" was the most anticipated fall film. On the weekend of November 3, 2017, the film earned $25.4million from IMAX showings, surpassing "Doctor Strange" as the largest for a November weekend. The film had earned $650.1million globally, surpassing the total grosses for "Thor" ($449.3million) and "Thor: The Dark World" ($644.6million), by the end of its third weekend. It became the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2017. "Deadline Hollywood" calculated the film's net profit as $174.2million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it eighth on their list of 2017's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: "Thor: Ragnarok" earned $46.8million on its opening day in the United States and Canada (including $14.5million from Thursday night previews), and had a total weekend gross of $122.7million, which was the top film for the weekend, the sixth-best November opening, and the largest opening for all "Thor" films. IMAX contributed $12.2million, which was the second-best IMAX opening of 2017 and its third-best November opening. The film's earnings on Sunday ($32.1million), was the second-best Sunday in November after "" (2013) ($34.5million). The film had been projected to gross $100–125million in its opening weekend. "Ragnarok" remained the number one film in its second weekend, having earned a total of $211.6million, which surpassed the entire runs of "Thor" ($181million) and "The Dark World" ($206.4million). In its third weekend, "Thor: Ragnarok" fell to third at the box office, and fourth in its fourth and fifth weekends. The film surpassed its projected total domestic gross of $280million in its fifth weekend with $291.4million, "Thor: Ragnarok" was fifth in its sixth weekend, and seventh in its seventh weekend, the final weekend it remained in the top 10.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Outside the United States and Canada, the film opened in 36 markets in its first weekend, ranking first in all, and earning $109.1million, $6million of which came from 189 IMAX screens. The United Kingdom opening ($16.2million) was the best October opening for a non-"James Bond" film. South Korea ($15.7million), Australia ($8.4million), Brazil ($8.1million), Indonesia ($5.5 million), Taiwan ($5.4 million), the Philippines ($3.8 million), Malaysia ($3.5 million), New Zealand, Vietnam, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, and South Africa had the best October opening weekend ever, while France ($7.7million) had the second-best. Brazil also had the third-best debut for an MCU film, while New Zealand's opening was the biggest of 2017. In its second weekend, "Ragnarok" opened at number one in 19 more markets, with the largest November opening ever in China ($56.3million, including $6million from 446 IMAX screens), Mexico ($10.8million), Germany ($8.9million), and India ($5.5million). It also remained at number one in many existing markets. The film earned an additional $13.2million from 788 IMAX screens, the best November opening. In its third weekend, the film remained at number one in over 30 countries, and became the highest-grossing superhero film in the Czech Republic. By its fifth weekend, "Ragnarok" had become the highest-grossing superhero film in central and eastern Europe. , the film's largest markets were China ($112million), the United Kingdom ($40.4million), and South Korea ($35.1million).


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of , with an average score of , based on reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Exciting, funny, and above all fun, "Thor: Ragnarok" is a colorful cosmic adventure that sets a new standard for its franchise—and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe." Metacritic assigned a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the best of the "Thor" series, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 90% overall positive score and an 85% "definite recommend".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Sheri Linden of "The Hollywood Reporter" praised Waititi's handling of "the clash-of-worlds CGI extravaganza", particularly for the lighter tone he brought, with "even the story's central bad guys [being] silly fun, hammed to the hilt by Cate Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum." Alonso Duralde of "TheWrap" wrote, "Both the banter and the fighting, it should be noted, are excellent, so whether you go to superhero movies for the glossy escapism or the pulse-pounding action, you'll get your large soda's worth." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" rated the film three stars out of four, described it as "the most fun you'll ever have at a Marvel movie" while praising the film's changing tone and direction, comparing it favourably to "Guardians of the Galaxy". The "San Francisco Chronicle"s Mick LaSalle lauded the performances of Hemsworth, Hiddleston, Blanchett, Thompson, Goldblum and Ruffalo, feeling the film "has confidence in its characters and in its own invention, and so it avoids repetition and stays fresh".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Richard Roeper of the "Chicago Sun-Times" similarly praised the film, calling the performances of the ensemble cast "outstanding" and Waititi's direction "goofy and campy and marvelously self-referential". He also said the soundtrack that was used in the climactic battle sequence, particularly Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", was "perfectly synced". Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars, positively comparing Hemsworth's performance to Cary Grant: "Hemsworth's charisma holds ["Thor: Ragnarok"] together whenever it threatens to spin apart". Justin Chang of "Los Angeles Times" praised Blanchett's performance of Hela, drawing a comparison of the portrayal of her character to other iconic villains such as Maleficent and Chernabog, and the film's similar themes and tone to "Flash Gordon", "Star Wars" (1977), and "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory". "The Daily Telegraph"'s Robbie Collin gave the film four out of five, hailed it as "one of [Marvel's] best films to date" while commending the performances and describing Mark Mothersbaugh's musical score as "turbo-charged". Michael Phillips of the "Chicago Tribune" commended the performances of Hiddleston and Thompson as being "wonderfully matched". He also noted a similar directing style of Waititi to Edgar Wright's "parodic work" and labelled the film as "unusually lively and buoyant" while acknowledging the effect of a "Marvel Fatigue factor" towards the audiences.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Peter Debruge of "Variety" called the movie "preposterous", but praised Goldblum's performance. Stephanie Zacharek of "Time" magazine stated negatively that ""Thor: Ragnarok" is packed tight with zooming space vehicles and noisy thunder battles, but the movie's extravagant excess is more narcotizing than energizing." Zacharek further added that "Even poor Thor seems lost in all of it, and he's supposed to be its star" while criticizing the film's visual effects as being "an instance of fun overkill" and "a special-effects coma". Manohla Dargis of "The New York Times" called the story "an uninteresting thicket of brawls, machinations and useful coincidences" but did feel that Hemsworth "looks happier and far more relaxed in "Ragnarok" than he did in the previous Thor vehicles, which is perhaps Mr. Waititi's truest achievement here."


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: Some critics claim that "Thor: Ragnarok" conceals sophisticated commentary under its comedic presentation, specifically on themes of colonial history and indigenous people. Key points in this discourse include Waititi's own indigenous Māori heritage; Asgard's bloody history and Odin's whitewashing of it, as revealed by Hela; Scrapper 142's burial in alcohol of her ethnic identity as a Valkyrie; and the Grandmaster's euphemizing of "slaves" as "prisoners with jobs".


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: A third sequel titled "Thor: Love and Thunder" was released on July 8, 2022. Hemsworth, Thompson, and Elba reprised their roles, with Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander, Kat Dennings, and Stellan Skarsgård returning after not appearing in "Ragnarok". Portman portrayed her character taking on the mantle of Thor, similar to the comics. Additionally, Chris Pratt, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, and Sean Gunn reprise their roles as Guardians of the Galaxy members Peter Quill / Star-Lord, Mantis, Drax the Destroyer, Nebula, Groot, Rocket, and Kraglin Obfonteri. Christian Bale joined the cast as the villain Gorr the God Butcher.


title: Thor: Ragnarok

text: By the release of "Ragnarok", Waititi and Marvel had discussed a spin-off Marvel One-Shot short film following the characters Korg and Miek, but it was unfeasible due to Marvel's commitment to producing three feature films a year. Feige said Marvel still had plans for those characters, but did not specify. Both appear in "Avengers: Endgame" and "Love and Thunder".


title: Zach Braff

text: Zachary Israel Braff (born April 6, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He portrayed J.D. on the NBC/ABC television series "Scrubs" (2001–2010), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2005 as well as for three Golden Globe Awards from 2005 to 2007. He starred in "" (2000), "The Last Kiss" (2006), "The Ex" (2006), and "In Dubious Battle" (2016). He has done voice-work for "Chicken Little" (2005), "Oz the Great and Powerful" (2013), and the Netflix series "BoJack Horseman" (2017, 2020).


title: Zach Braff

text: In 2004, Braff made his directorial debut with "Garden State" in which he also starred. Additionally, he wrote the screenplay and compiled the soundtrack album. He shot the film in his home state of New Jersey with a budget of $2.5 million. The film made over $35 million at the box office and was praised by critics, leading it to gain a cult following. He won numerous awards for his directing work and also won the Grammy Award for Best Soundtrack Album in 2005. Braff directed his second film, "Wish I Was Here" (2014), which he partially funded with a Kickstarter campaign.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff has appeared on stage, in the dark comedy "All New People", in which he starred, and also wrote. It premiered in New York City in 2011 before playing in London's West End. He also played the lead role in a musical adaptation of Woody Allen's "Bullets Over Broadway" in 2014.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff was born in South Orange, New Jersey, and grew up there and in neighboring Maplewood. His father, Harold Irwin "Hal" Braff (1934–2018), was a trial attorney, professor and alumnus at Rutgers Law School, a founder of the state's American Inns of Court (AIC) and an elected trustee of the National Inns of Court Foundation. His mother, Anne Brodzinsky (born Anne Hutchinson Maynard), worked as a clinical psychologist. His parents divorced and remarried others during Braff's childhood. Braff's father was born into a Jewish family and Braff's mother, originally a Protestant, converted to Judaism before marrying his father. Braff said that he had a "very strong conservative/orthodox [Jewish] upbringing." He had his bar mitzvah service at Oheb Shalom Congregation. In 2005, he said that he was "not a huge organized religion guy," and in 2013, he said that "the religion (Judaism) doesn't necessarily work for me," although he identifies as Jewish. His older brother is author Joshua Braff. His other brother, Adam Braff, is a writer and producer. His stepsister, Jessica Kirson, is a stand-up comedian.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff wanted to be a filmmaker since his early childhood; he has described it as his "life dream." Braff was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder at age ten. During his childhood, Braff was a friend of future Fugees member Lauryn Hill at Columbia High School in Maplewood.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff attended Stagedoor Manor, a performing arts "training center" for youth actors ages 10 to 18. Stagedoor was where Braff met and befriended actor Josh Charles. Braff also knows Stagedoor alums Natalie Portman, Mandy Moore, and Joshua Radin well. Braff studied film studies at Northwestern University's School of Communication and became a brother of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity; he graduated in the class of 1997.


title: Zach Braff

text: One of Braff's earliest roles was in "High", a proposed 1989 CBS television series with a cast that also included Gwyneth Paltrow and Craig Ferguson; the television pilot never made it on air. Braff appeared in the 1990s series "The Baby-sitters Club", in the episode "Dawn Saves the Trees." He appeared in Woody Allen's 1993 film "Manhattan Murder Mystery". In 1998, Braff had a part in a George C. Wolfe production of "Macbeth" for New York City's Public Theater.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff played "J.D." (short for the character's full name, John Dorian) on the medical comedy television series "Scrubs" which debuted in 2001. The role was Braff's first major role in a television show. Braff was nominated for three Golden Globes and an Emmy for his work on the show. Braff directed several episodes of "Scrubs", including the one-hundredth episode, "My Way Home." For the show's ninth season Braff was a cast member for six episodes and also served as one of the executive producers.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff directed several episodes of "Scrubs". Braff starred in "Garden State", also directing and producing it. The movie was filmed in his home state of New Jersey. Producers were initially reluctant to finance the film; Braff wrote it in six months. At the 2005 Grammy Awards, his "mixtape" won a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for the "Garden State" soundtrack.


title: Zach Braff

text: On April 24, 2013, Braff started a Kickstarter campaign to finance the film "Wish I Was Here", based on a script he wrote with his brother, Adam Braff. The $2,000,000 goal was reached in three days. He directed and starred in the film which was released in 2014.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff was the executive producer of the documentary "Video Games: The Movie". He was also one of the Executive Producers of "", released in 2014. He has directed several music videos: Gavin DeGraw's "Chariot," Joshua Radin's "Closer", Radin's "I'd Rather Be With You," and Lazlo Bane's "Superman" which is the theme song from "Scrubs". His music production led to newfound success for some of the artists featured on his film soundtracks including The Shins, who were prominently featured on the "Garden State" soundtrack and the "Scrubs" soundtrack, resulting in the expression "the Zach Braff effect."


title: Zach Braff

text: In 2020, Braff directed the short film "In The Time It Takes To Get There", starring Alicia Silverstone and Florence Pugh. The film was based on a poster created by Sam West, the winner of an Adobe movie poster contest in 2018. In 2021, Braff was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for directing the Apple TV+ comedy show "Ted Lasso". He also received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the "Ted Lasso" episode "Biscuits".


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff is currently writing directing, and producing the drama film "A Good Person" starring Morgan Freeman and Florence Pugh, it is set to be released on March 24, 2023.


title: Zach Braff

text: Along with other "Scrubs" cast members, Braff has a cameo role in "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie".


title: Zach Braff

text: He also voiced the titular character in the Disney animated film "Chicken Little" (2005), and has reprised the role in various Disney video games such as "Chicken Little", "Kingdom Hearts II", "" and "Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMIX". Braff has also done voiceovers for commercials, including a PUR water campaign, Wendy's in 2007 and 2008, and in Cottonelle as the voice of the puppy. He also provided the voice of Finley in the Disney film "Oz The Great and Powerful" (2013). In 2005, Braff was featured on "Punk'd" when he was tricked into chasing and then beating a supposed vandal who appeared to be spray-painting his brand new Porsche.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff was in talks to star in the film "Fletch Won" and had signed on to play the role eventually played by Dane Cook in "Mr. Brooks", but dropped out of both roles to work on "Open Hearts", which he adapted from a Danish film and will direct. He has also co-written a film version of "Andrew Henry's Meadow", a children's book, with his brother, and was scheduled to direct one of the segments for the film New York, I Love You.


title: Zach Braff

text: In July 2009, he signed on as an executive producer of the documentary "Heart of Stone" to "help spread the word about it."


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff starred in the romantic drama "The Last Kiss", which opened on September 15, 2006. Braff tweaked several parts of Paul Haggis' script for the film, as he wanted the script to be as "real as possible" and "really courageous" regarding its subject matter. As with "Garden State", Braff was involved with the film's soundtrack, serving as executive producer. The film's director, Tony Goldwyn, compared Braff to a younger version of Tim Allen, describing Braff as "incredibly accessible to an audience... a real guy, an everyman."


title: Zach Braff

text: In 2007, Braff starred in the film "The Ex" (2007). He also starred in the Canadian indie film "The High Cost of Living" with Québécois actress Isabelle Blais in 2010. Directed by Deborah Chow, the film was shot in Montreal and principal photography wrapped on March 9, 2010. Braff stated he enjoyed filming in the country in which "The Last Kiss" was also shot. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was also shown at the Tribeca Film Festival.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff played the lead role of Alex in "Alex, Inc.", a television comedy based on a family man who quit his radio career to launch a podcasting company. ABC cancelled the show after one season.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff returned to the Public Theater in 2002, in a part in "Twelfth Night", staged in Central Park. In mid-2010, Braff took a lead role in "Trust", at the Second Stage Theatre, a contemporary Off-Broadway theater company. The play ran from July 23 to September 12, extending its scheduled run by one week. Braff wrote on Facebook that he was "Having so much fun doing "Trust"." The play co-starred Sutton Foster, Ari Graynor, and Bobby Cannavale, was written by Paul Weitz and directed by Peter DuBois. Braff played Henry, a wealthy married man who "looks to find something real in the most unlikely of places."


title: Zach Braff

text: In early 2011, Braff announced that he had written a play to be performed at the Second Stage Theatre in mid-2011. His play, "All New People", is set on Long Beach Island and centers on Charlie, a 35-year-old from Braff's home state New Jersey. The play was directed by Peter DuBois, who directed Braff in "Trust" the previous year. When announcing the play on Facebook, Braff wrote that 'one of my dreams comes true'. In 2012, Braff moved the play on tour to the UK, playing in Manchester at the Manchester Opera House between February 8–11, Glasgow at the King's Theatre between February 14–18, and finally in London for 10 weeks at the Duke of York's Theatre from February 22.


title: Zach Braff

text: On April 10, 2014, Braff opened on Broadway in the musical "Bullets Over Broadway The Musical", an adaptation of Woody Allen's 1994 film, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff is expected to direct "Open Hearts", a remake of the 2002 Danish film "Elsker dig for evigt" ("Love You Forever"). The film is about a woman who has an affair with her paralyzed husband's doctor, whose wife caused the accident that put her husband in a wheelchair. It was first revealed that Braff was directing "Open Hearts" in 2006, however, the movie was canceled. Braff said "It fell apart at the last second due to scheduling and budget, as so many movies do." At the same time, Braff's film "The Last Kiss" was being released.


title: Zach Braff

text: In 2009, Braff was working on the script for "Swingles", a film based on a spec script by Duncan Birmingham; he will direct and star in alongside Cameron Diaz. As of 2021, no further public announcements about the film's development status has been released.


title: Zach Braff

text: In 2009, Braff opened up the restaurant Mermaid Oyster Bar in New York City with chef and high school friend Laurence Edelman, as well as Danny Abrams.


title: Zach Braff

text: Proprietors of the Rio Theater in Monte Rio, California credited Braff with making the donation that put their Kickstarter campaign over the target to buy a digital projector over its $60,000 goal in May 2013.


title: Zach Braff

text: In March 2020, Braff and "Scrubs" co-star Donald Faison launched a "Scrubs" rewatch podcast titled "Fake Doctors, Real Friends". Distributed by iHeartRadio, the duo also shares stories and experiences of their time on set. Guests on the podcast include their co-stars Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, Neil Flynn, John C. McGinley, Christa Miller, and Ken Jenkins as well as the show's creator, Bill Lawrence and director Michael Spiller.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff has previously dated actress Mandy Moore, from 2004-2006. He has also had relationships with model Taylor Bagley from 2009 to 2014, and British actress Florence Pugh, in 2019. He directed her in his 2019 short film "In the Time it Takes to Get There". The couple broke up in 2022.


title: Zach Braff

text: Braff in 2012 endorsed the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama. Braff was an outspoken critic of former US President Donald Trump.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded as one of the greatest dual-threat quarterbacks of all time.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson played college football and baseball at NC State from 2008 to 2010 before transferring to Wisconsin in 2011, where he set the single-season FBS record for passer rating and led them to a Big Ten title and the 2012 Rose Bowl. He also played minor league baseball for the Tri-City Dust Devils in 2010 and the Asheville Tourists in 2011 as a second baseman.


title: Russell Wilson

text: The Seahawks selected Wilson in the third round (75th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. He tied Peyton Manning's then-record for most passing touchdowns by a rookie and was named Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year. Wilson has been named to nine Pro Bowls and helped lead the Seahawks to two consecutive Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XLVIII. He holds the record for most wins by an NFL quarterback through nine seasons and is one of four quarterbacks in NFL history with a career passer rating over 100. In April 2019, Wilson signed a four-year, $140 million contract extension with the Seahawks, making him the highest paid player in the NFL at the time. In 2020, he became just the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for thirty touchdowns in four consecutive seasons.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson is part owner of the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). After he purchased his minority stake, the Sounders won the 2019 MLS Cup.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson was born at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. His parents are Harrison Benjamin Wilson III, a lawyer, and Tammy Wilson (née Turner), a nurse director. He has an older brother, Harrison IV, and a younger sister, Anna. Wilson started playing football with his father and brother at the age of four, and played his first organized game for the Tuckahoe Tomahawks youth football team in sixth grade.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson's great-great-grandfather was a slave to a Confederate colonel and was freed after the American Civil War. Wilson's paternal grandfather, Harrison B. Wilson Jr., was a former president of Norfolk State University who played football and basketball at Kentucky State University, and his paternal grandmother, Anna W. Wilson, was on the faculty at Jackson State University. Wilson's maternal grandfather was noted painter A. B. Jackson. According to genetic admixture analysis, Wilson is 62% African, 36% European, 1% West Asian, and 1% Central Asian. His European family lineage has been traced back to 524 A.D. to Saint Arnulf of Metz via Charlemagne. Wilson also claims to have some Native American ancestry, but did not say which tribe he came from.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson's father played football and baseball at Dartmouth and was a wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers preseason squad in 1980. Wilson's brother, Harry, played football and baseball at the University of Richmond, and his sister Anna played basketball at Stanford.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson's father died on June 9, 2010, at age 55 due to complications from diabetes, the day after Wilson was drafted by the Rockies.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson attended Collegiate School, a preparatory school in Richmond, Virginia. As a junior in 2005, he threw for 3,287 passing yards and 40 passing touchdowns and rushed for 634 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns. He was named an all-district, all-region, and all-state player. Wilson was twice named the "Richmond Times-Dispatch" Player of the Year.


title: Russell Wilson

text: As a senior, he threw for 3,009 passing yards, 34 passing touchdowns, and seven interceptions. In addition, he rushed for 1,132 yards and 18 touchdowns. That year, he was named an all-conference and all-state player as well as conference player of the year. He was featured in "Sports Illustrated" for his performance in the state championship game win. Wilson also served as his senior class president.


title: Russell Wilson

text: During his time in high school, Wilson attended the Manning Passing Academy, a summer football clinic run by multiple NFL MVP winner and eventual Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. Due to this encounter, Manning recognized Wilson many years later when the latter had flown to Denver to discuss the prospect of getting drafted by the Denver Broncos, where Manning had recently signed.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson committed to North Carolina State University on July 23, 2006. He also received a football scholarship offer from Duke University.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson redshirted during the 2007 season at NC State. In 2008, Wilson initially split time at quarterback with senior Daniel Evans and junior Harrison Beck. However, Evans and Beck saw no regular season action after Week 2 and Week 5, respectively. Thereafter, Wilson led the team to a 4–3 record in the regular season which NC State finished out on a four-game winning streak. During a 30–24 win over East Carolina, Wilson threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns. He threw for two touchdowns in each of the last six games in the regular season.


title: Russell Wilson

text: In the 2008 PapaJohns.com Bowl against Rutgers, Wilson threw for 186 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 46 yards before halftime. Late in the first half, he scrambled to the Rutgers' four-yard line, where he was tackled and suffered a knee sprain. With Wilson sitting out the remainder of the game, his replacements threw a combined total of three interceptions with NC State, eventually losing 29–23. Over the course of the season, he completed 150 of 275 attempts for 1,955 yards and 17 touchdowns with just one interception. He also recorded 116 carries for 394 yards and four touchdowns. The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) named him the first-team All-ACC quarterback. It was the first time in conference history that a freshman quarterback was named to the first team.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Prior to the 2009 season, Wilson was named quarterback of the pre-season all-ACC football team on July 12. On September 19, Wilson broke Andre Woodson's all-time NCAA record of 325 consecutive pass attempts without an interception against Gardner–Webb. The 379-pass streak ended in a game against Wake Forest on October 3. Wilson held the record until November 10, 2012, when it was broken by Louisiana Tech quarterback Colby Cameron. Wilson was named honorable mention All-ACC in 2009. Wilson finished the 2009 regular season with 3,027 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions as the team finished with a 5–7 record.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson led the 2010 Wolfpack to a 9–4 season that included a 23–7 win over West Virginia in the 2010 Champs Sports Bowl. He led the ACC in passing yards per game (274.1) and total offensive yards per game (307.5). He was named second-team All-ACC and runner-up for ACC Football Player of the Year. In May 2010, Wilson graduated from NC State in three years with a BA in communication, and took graduate-level business courses in the fall semester during the 2010 football season.


title: Russell Wilson

text: In January 2011, Wilson announced that he would report to spring training with the Colorado Rockies organization. NC State head coach Tom O'Brien expressed reservations with Wilson's decision, saying "Russell and I have had very open conversations about his responsibilities respective to baseball and football. While I am certainly respectful of Russell's dedication to baseball these last several years, within those discussions I also communicated to him the importance of his time commitment to NC State football."


title: Russell Wilson

text: O'Brien and his staff reached out to NFL coaches and general managers on Wilson's behalf, but he failed to receive an invitation to the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine.


title: Russell Wilson

text: On April 29, 2011, O'Brien announced that Wilson was granted a release from his football scholarship with one year of eligibility left.


title: Russell Wilson

text: On June 27, 2011, Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema said that Wilson committed to Wisconsin for the 2011 season. In the season opener against UNLV, Wilson passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns in a 51–17 victory. He also rushed for 62 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown run. At the end of the regular season, Wilson was named first team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media. He also won the Griese-Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year award.


title: Russell Wilson

text: In the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game on December 3, Wilson threw for three touchdowns and led the Badgers to a 42–39 win over the Michigan State Spartans. Wilson was named the game's Grange-Griffin MVP. In December 2011, Wilson was named a third team All-American by Yahoo! Sports, and finished ninth in Heisman Trophy voting with 52 points.


title: Russell Wilson

text: In the 2012 Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks on January 2, 2012, Wilson had 19 pass completions on 25 attempts for 296 yards, 18 rushing yards, and three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) as the Badgers lost by a score of 45–38. Wilson finished the season with 33 passing touchdowns, which set the single season record at Wisconsin and was the second-most in Big Ten history behind Drew Brees during the 1998 season at Purdue (39). Wilson also set the single season FBS record for passing efficiency (191.8). On January 28, 2012, Wilson completed his college football career at the 2012 Senior Bowl.


title: Russell Wilson

text: On January 16, 2012, Wilson began training for the NFL Scouting Combine at the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Prior to the 2012 NFL Draft, Wilson had been projected by NFL scouts and analysts to be a middle-round pick. In February 2012, former NFL quarterback and director of the IMG Madden Football Academy Chris Weinke said of Wilson, "If he was 6–5, he'd probably be the No. 1 pick in the draft." On April 11, 2012, ESPN "Monday Night Football" analyst Jon Gruden said, "The only issue with Russell Wilson is his height. That might be the reason he's not picked in the first couple rounds."


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson was selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round (75th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft, the sixth quarterback selected. The Seahawks received significant criticism for their selections in the draft, and Wilson in particular, as they had just signed free agent Matt Flynn. Two weeks later, Wilson signed a four-year, $2.99 million contract with the Seahawks on May 7, 2012.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson made his preseason debut against the Tennessee Titans on August 11, 2012, and had his first preseason start on August 24 against the Kansas City Chiefs. Two days later on August 26, 2012, Wilson was named the starting quarterback for the first regular season game after competing with Matt Flynn and Tarvaris Jackson for the position.


title: Russell Wilson

text: On September 9, 2012, Wilson made his regular season debut in a 20–16 road loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He had 18 completions on 34 passing attempts for 153 yards, one passing touchdown, and one interception. In the third regular season game on Monday night, the Seahawks won 14–12 over the Green Bay Packers on a controversial Hail Mary touchdown pass to Golden Tate. The contentious nature of the replacement officials' decision on the play was widely considered to have been the tipping point that led to an agreement being reached to end the referee lockout.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson earned the Rookie of the Week honors for his stellar performance in a 28–7 victory over the New York Jets on November 11; he completed 12 of 19 attempts for 188 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 34 yards on seven attempts. He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week and Player of the Week for his performance in the 23–17 road win over the Chicago Bears in overtime on December 2. In the 50–17 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Toronto on December 16, Wilson had 205 passing yards, one passing touchdown, nine rushes, 92 rushing yards, and a career-high three rushing touchdowns. He earned NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month honors for December 2012 after the Seahawks went 5–0 and he had a passer rating of 115.2.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson finished the regular season ranked fourth in the NFL in passer rating (100.0), beating the previous rookie record set by Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 (98.1), since broken by Robert Griffin III in 2012 (102.4) and Dak Prescott in (104.9). He threw for 3,118 yards and 26 touchdowns, tying Peyton Manning's record for most touchdowns thrown by a rookie, and rushed for 489 yards and four touchdowns. Wilson's scrambling mobility and ability to extend plays outside the pocket with his legs earned numerous comparisons to Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson led the Seahawks to the postseason in his rookie year, with both games on the road in January. He made his postseason debut in the NFC against the Washington Redskins, passing for 187 yards and rushing for 67 yards as the Seahawks rallied for a 24–14 comeback victory. In the against the Atlanta Falcons, Wilson threw for 385 yards and rushed for 60 yards, and his team had a 28–27 lead with 31 seconds to go, but the Falcons managed to kick the winning field goal.


title: Russell Wilson

text: Wilson was selected as an alternate for the 2013 Pro Bowl, filling in for Matt Ryan of Atlanta. At the Pro Bowl in Hawaii on January 27, Wilson completed eight of ten attempts for 98 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions for a 147.1 rating.


title: Russell Wilson

text: At the end of the season, Wilson earned a bonus of $222,000 through the NFL's Performance-Based Pay program.