15 Upcoming Comic Book Movie Performances That Will Kick Ass

3. Cate Blanchett As Hela

The Film: Thor: Ragnarok

Though we'll have to wait until 2018 for the first top billed heroine in the MCU (with Ant-Man And The Wasp), we get the franchise's first real top-billed female villain as soon as this year with Cate Blanchett's performance as Hela in Thor: Ragnarok.

The Oscar-winner immediately adds prestige and clout to any project, and to see her exploring the theatricality and darkness of Hela some 16 years after she showed flashes of terrible villainy as Galadriel in Lord Of The Rings is a hugely exciting prospect.

Blanchett should be a powerful enough presence even to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Thanos (and hopefully we'll see precisely that in Infinity War), and she'll be more than capable of out-sparring both Thor and Loki, even before she shows off her real powers. Ragnarok already looks incredible in terms of tone and Taika Waititi's aesthetic, but adding a towering performance like Blanchett's on top takes it up another couple of notches entirely.