50 Fun Facts About Thor: the Dark World

Who directed Thor: The Dark World?

Feige cited his work on Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones when hiring him.

Which number MCU film is Thor: The Dark World?

It followed Iron Man 3 as the second film of Phase Two.

Who plays the villain Malekith?

Mikkelsen was in talks but left for Hannibal, and Cumberbatch was also in the running.

What is the weapon Malekith seeks to unleash on the Nine Realms?

Odin's father Bor hid it on a world no one could reach after defeating Malekith eons earlier.

What is the home world of the Dark Elves called?

Iceland stood in for it, with Double Negative adding ruins, mountains and elf ships.

What rare alignment of the Nine Realms drives the plot?

As it approaches, portals linking the worlds appear at random.

In which city is Jane Foster living when the film begins?

Portman noted Jane had moved from Santa Fe and was "trying to move on" after Thor skipped visiting her.

Which member of Thor's family is killed protecting Foster?

Rene Russo said her role was expanded after being cut down in the first film.

Where does Malekith plan to unleash his weapon at the center of the alignment?

Scenes were filmed at the Old Royal Naval College there in late October 2012.

Who is revealed to be impersonating Odin at the end of the film?

Loki was originally meant to die, but test audiences did not believe it and the ending was changed.

Who do Volstagg and Sif hand the relic to in the mid-credits scene?

Benicio del Toro's scene was directed by Guardians of the Galaxy's James Gunn.

Why are the Asgardians uneasy keeping Malekith's relic on Asgard?

Two Infinity Stones so close together is deemed dangerous.

Who replaced Joshua Dallas as Fandral?

Dallas left for Once Upon a Time; Levi had dropped out of the first film because of Chuck.

Levi compared Fandral to which character he had voiced?

He called Fandral "like Errol Flynn. He loves ladies, as do I".

Who plays Algrim, who becomes Kurse?

He said the suit weighed about 40 pounds and "a good 80%" of Kurse was him inside it.

What detail was kept the same to show Algrim inside Kurse?

The actor worked with Taylor to keep Algrim's humanity through the transformation.

How long did Eccleston say his make-up took each day?

Plus 45 minutes in wardrobe, and an invented Elvish language he felt had "some Finnish in there".

Who stood in for Natalie Portman during the post-credits kiss?

Hemsworth's wife filled in because of a scheduling conflict.

Which Avenger cameos uncredited as Loki in disguise?

Stan Lee, meanwhile, cameos as a patient in a mental ward.

Who plays Richard, Jane's date at the start of the film?

Jonathan Howard plays Ian, Darcy's intern.

Which director left the sequel in December 2011 citing creative differences?

She had wanted a Romeo and Juliet premise with Thor forbidden from rescuing Jane on Earth.

Which HBO series did Taylor draw on to make the sequel grittier?

He brought his Game of Thrones cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau along.

Which villain was dropped from an early version partly over toy-sales worries?

Producer Craig Kyle said the Creative Committee did not think they could sell toys of her to young boys.

Who was first hired to compose the score before Marvel replaced him?

He left over creative differences in May 2013.

Who ultimately scored the film?

He had just scored Iron Man 3 and described the film as "science fiction meeting classic medieval war".

What was the film's working title during production?

Residents near Bourne Wood in Surrey were told a film by that name would be shooting there.

In which English county did principal photography begin?

Shepperton and Longcross Studios there were also used between October and December 2012.

Which country hosted one of its most extensive film shoots ever for the movie?

Locations included Skógafoss and Fjaðrárgljúfur; Taylor had shot Game of Thrones there.

Which ancient monument had sets built near it for the shoot?

Crews began construction near Amesbury in August 2012.

Which camera did cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau choose after testing the Sony F65?

It was his first time shooting a feature digitally, using Panavision anamorphic lenses.

Which writer-director was "airlifted in" to rewrite problem scenes?

Taylor said he rewrote one major London scene and then two more before getting back on his plane.

Feige said the film concluded which three-film arc?

It traced the brothers' relationship through Thor, The Avengers and this film.

Which VFX house was mainly responsible for the prologue set 5,000 years earlier?

The sequence was mostly CG because the live-action costumes were too constrictive to move in.

Which country's coast was filmed by helicopter to ground Asgard in real terrain?

Three days of flying produced six hours of footage for Double Negative to build on.

What vehicle was put on a hydraulic rig to show the alignment's strange gravity?

The rig could be programmed to change speed and movement.

What nickname did the VFX team give the portal membrane in the final fight?

Supervisor Jake Morrison likened it to cling film that bends, rips and spits the person out.

Where was the world premiere held on October 22, 2013?

The UK release followed eight days later, ahead of the U.S. on November 8.

Roughly how much did the film gross worldwide?

It passed its predecessor's total after just 19 days.

Whose November opening record for Disney did the film beat?

Its $85.7 million weekend was 30% above the first Thor.

Which film knocked it from the top of the North American box office in its third weekend?

It had topped the chart for two weekends.

Which was the film's largest international market by total earnings?

China brought in $55.3 million, ahead of Russia's $35.7 million.

It was the lowest-rated MCU film on Rotten Tomatoes until which 2021 release?

The Dark World sits at 67% with a 6.2/10 average.

Which Marvel One-Shot came with the home media release?

Ben Kingsley reprised Trevor Slattery from Iron Man 3.

What was the Disneyland tie-in attraction called?

It opened November 1, 2013, beside the Stark Industries exhibit in Innoventions.

Which Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode is set in the film's aftermath?

It aired November 19, 2013; Jaimie Alexander later reprised Sif in "Yes Men".

Who was formally hired to script the sequel in June 2011?

Rodat was later commissioned to rewrite; both ended up with story credit.

What did test audiences refuse to believe, prompting a changed ending?

Taylor said the reshoots "inverted" his original plot in certain ways.

Which actress slipped in the rain and was injured on set?

She later tweeted that principal photography wrapped on December 14, 2012.

Which director's cut did Taylor later cite as the kind he would like to make?

He conceded Marvel was likely not interested.

Which realm is Hogun of the Warriors Three native to?

Thor and his companions repel marauders there early in the film.