While Tom Hiddleston is expected to reprise the role of Loki in Thor: Ragnarok, the big bad of the movie is actually expected to be Hela. She's the ruler of Hel (the Asgardian version of, well, Hell) and also lords over the realm of Niflheim. In the overly complicated history of the her comic book counterpart, Hela is actually Loki's daughter, but there's no word yet on whether this version of the Norse Goddess of Death will be. With Mark Ruffalo recently letting slip the fact that Cate Blanchett is in talks to play a villain in the movie, chances are that this is going to be the character The Lord of the Rings actress will star as. Apparently, the Marvel Cinematic Universe version is actually in cahoots with Loki, but by the time Thor discovers what's really going on in Asgard, it's far too late, and the mighty Hela ends up banishing him. Where to? I'll get to that a little later, but using Hela as the big bad of Thor: Ragnarok is definitely a smart move on Marvel's part. With Freya dead, Natalie Portman unlikely to return as Jane Foster, and Jaimie Alexander no doubt set to have only a relatively small role because of her commitments to Blindspot, the movie needs a strong female presence, and Hela is a character who most definitely fits the bill.
