Film
Thor: Ragnarok
Taika Waititi took the moodiest Avenger and rebuilt him from scratch: neon colours, wisecracks, a killer Jeff Goldblum, and a genuine sense that anything could happen next. It's a buddy comedy wearing an apocalypse's clothes, gleefully self-aware without curdling into smugness. For anyone who likes their superhero spectacle loose, funny, and unafraid to look ridiculous.
If you liked this
Guardians of the Galaxy2014
The same trick, done first: a jukebox soundtrack, a mismatched crew, and cosmic stakes treated with a shrug and a grin. If Ragnarok's tone hooked you, this is where that recipe was proven.
But Its earnestness under the jokes is more sincere than Ragnarok's, which can feel a touch soppier by comparison.

What We Do in the Shadows2014
Taika Waititi's own vampire mockumentary, low-budget and gloriously silly, shows exactly where Ragnarok's specific comic rhythm and deadpan absurdity came from.
But Tiny scale and mockumentary format make it feel worlds away from a Marvel budget spectacle.

Deadpool2016
Another superhero movie that decided the genre needed puncturing rather than reverence, with a lead who never stops talking and never stops being fun about it.
But Considerably raunchier and more violent — this is not the family-friendly cousin Ragnarok is.

The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Northman2022
Both draw directly from Norse myth and the idea of Ragnarok itself, but where Waititi plays the apocalypse for laughs, this plays it as blood-soaked tragedy.
The same Norse mythology, told completely straight: brutal, hallucinatory, humourless, and gorgeous. It's the version of this world with the jokes surgically removed.
But Slow, punishing, and grim — nothing about it wants to entertain you the way Ragnarok does.

More like this (8)
The Fifth Element1997
A totally unhinged, candy-coloured space epic that treats its own absurdity as a feature. Same appetite for maximalist design and comic chaos, different decade.
But Its plotting is looser and stranger; some find the whole thing more baffling than charming.

Men in Black1997
Buddy comedy plus alien apocalypse plus a straight man and a wildcard — the chemistry engine that powers Ragnarok's best scenes, in a smaller, tighter package.
But Lower stakes and a more grounded, Earthbound setting than Ragnarok's cosmic sprawl.

Ghostbusters1984
The blueprint for treating world-ending threats as material for jokes rather than dread, delivered by actors who look like they're having the time of their lives.
But Special effects and pacing feel dated next to Ragnarok's slick, hyperactive visuals.

Big Trouble in Little China1986
John Carpenter's cult adventure-comedy has that same swagger — a hero who's slightly out of his depth, sorcery played for laughs, chaos handled with a smirk.
But Cheesier effects and a much smaller budget than Ragnarok's Marvel polish.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle2017
Same year, same appetite for comic-adventure spectacle with a starry cast clearly enjoying themselves and a game-logic universe that lets anything happen.
But Broader, more family-aimed humour with less of Ragnarok's specific deadpan wit.

Flash Gordon1980
Camp space opera at full, glorious volume — the direct spiritual ancestor of Ragnarok's neon aesthetic and gleeful embrace of its own silliness.
But Deliberately cheesy in a way that hasn't aged into so much charm for everyone.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension1984no page yet
Ragnarok's tonal DNA — deadpan absurdity colliding with genuine stakes — traces straight back to this kind of gleeful genre-blending pulp comedy.
A gloriously deranged cult sci-fi comedy about a rock-star scientist-adventurer, packed with the same anarchic, throw-everything-at-the-wall energy Waititi clearly studied.
But Cult-classic weirdness with rough production values; it's an acquired taste even by 80s standards.
Cowboy Bebop1998
Same tonal whiplash — comedy and cosmic loss sitting side by side — but in a different medium and register, proving the trick works without a superhero budget at all.
An anime about a crew of misfit bounty hunters drifting through space, swinging effortlessly between slapstick and real heartbreak, episode to episode.
But Animated, subtitled (in the original), and considerably more melancholic in its back half than Ragnarok ever gets.

People
Cast
Chris HemsworthThor
Mark RuffaloBruce Banner / Hulk
Tom HiddlestonLoki
Cate BlanchettHela
Idris ElbaHeimdall
Jeff GoldblumGrandmaster
Tessa ThompsonValkyrie
Karl UrbanSkurge
Anthony HopkinsOdin
Benedict CumberbatchDoctor Strange
Taika WaititiKorg (voice)
Rachel HouseTopaz
Directing
- Marieke SpenceAssistant Director
- Tom HooperAssistant Director
- Taika WaititiDirector
- Vincent LascoumesFirst Assistant Director
- Kerry Lyn McKissickScript Supervisor
- Ben CookeSecond Unit Director
Writing
- Jack KirbyComic Book
- Larry LieberComic Book
- Stan LeeComic Book
- Christopher L. YostWriter
- Craig KyleWriter
- Eric PearsonWriter
Production
- Jamie WhitfieldAssistant Production Manager
- Brian ChapekAssociate Producer
- Kirsty McGregorCasting
- Sarah Halley FinnCasting
- Molly DoyleCasting Assistant
- Jason B. StameyCasting Associate
- Nicholas A. MuddCasting Associate
- Kyana F. DavidsonExecutive Assistant
- Brad WinderbaumExecutive Producer
- Louis D'EspositoExecutive Producer
- Stan LeeExecutive Producer
- Thomas M. HammelExecutive Producer
- Victoria AlonsoExecutive Producer
- Duncan JonesLocation Manager
- Kevin FeigeProducer
- Carl EdgeProduction Assistant
- Nick PepinProduction Assistant
- Jennifer TevesProduction Supervisor
- Ryan MakepeaceTravel Coordinator
- Jennifer CornwellUnit Production Manager
Recommended by
Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Iron Man, The Avengers, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor, What We Do in the Shadows, Masters of the Universe, Deadpool & Wolverine, Shazam!, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Aquaman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3