Thor: Ragnarok - 8 Lessons It Can Learn From Its Predecessors

2. Mix The Tone Up

If the success of some of the MCU's projects over the last two years has proved anything, it's that audiences are willing to go along with anything. The Winter Soldier moved the Captain America films from a serial adventure tone to one akin to a political thriller; Guardians of the Galaxy was a wacky space action-comedy with a whole lot of heart; Daredevil and Jessica Jones explored the darkest corners of the MCU; and Ant-Man succeeded as a light-hearted, amiable heist movie. Whereas the first Thor benefited from the clash between its Shakespearean Asgard realm and the lighter world of Earth, The Dark World struggled with somewhat of an identity crisis, unable to raise the bar for his films like The Winter Soldier did for The First Avenger. Instead, it came off rather paint-by-numbers and risk-averse; an enjoyable adventure but one rendered generic in comparison to many of the projects the MCU has put out before and since. As has been noted earlier, Ragnarok is going to be a huge event - for Thor, for Asgard, and for the MCU as a whole - so it's not like it can be treated like a joke, but the film itself should take the types of creative and tonal risks that have helped the other projects stand out. Aside from merely going bigger, it shouldn't be afraid to go weird and explore its own boundaries. After all, we've seen sentient trees and been to the Microverse already - and we'll have seen Doctor Strange and his world by the time Ragnarok arrives - so it shouldn't shy away from giving Thor the truly epic, moving, and dynamic outing he deserves.