<P> Additionally, Tadanobu Asano, Ray Stevenson, and Zachary Levi reprise their roles as Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral, respectively, members of the Warriors Three . Feige called their appearances "noble ends" that served to establish the threat of Hela and the danger she poses to the main characters . Benedict Cumberbatch reprises his role as Dr. Stephen Strange from the film Doctor Strange (2016). Rachel House, who has appeared in several of Waititi's films, plays Topaz, the Grandmaster's bodyguard, while Waititi portrays Korg, a gladiator who befriends Thor . Waititi provided a motion - capture performance for the character, who is made of rocks, and wanted to do something different by having the character be soft - spoken, ultimately basing Korg's voice on that of Polynesian bouncers . Waititi also provided the motion - capture performance for the fire demon Surtur, based on the mythological being Surtr, with Clancy Brown voicing the character . Thor and Hulk co-creator Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance as a man on Sakaar who cuts Thor's hair . There are also several cameos in a sequence where Asgardian actors perform a play based on the events of The Dark World: Sam Neill, with whom Waititi previously worked on Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), plays the Odin actor; Luke Hemsworth, brother of Chris, plays the Thor actor; and Matt Damon plays the Loki actor . </P> <P> While promoting the release of Thor: The Dark World in October 2013, Chris Hemsworth expressed willingness to portraying Thor for as long as "people wanted more", adding that he was contracted for another Thor film and two more Avengers films . Producer Kevin Feige stated that the next Thor would build from elements at the end of The Dark World . In January 2014, Marvel announced that Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost would write the screenplay for a third film, with Feige again producing; the story was being outlined that July . At the end of October 2014, Feige announced that the film would be titled Thor: Ragnarok, with a scheduled release date of July 28, 2017 . Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston were set to return as Thor and Loki, respectively . Feige added that the film would be "very important" in Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and also confirmed that, in the context of the film, the word Ragnarok means "the end of all things". He felt that "people will (not) read into that title alone what the movie's going to be ." </P> <P> In February 2015, Marvel pushed back the release date to November 3, 2017 . That April, Feige was expecting a draft for the film soon, and a month later he stated that a director, additional screenwriter, and further casting announcements would be revealed "towards the end of the summer", with filming set for June 2016 . The Dark World director Alan Taylor explained that he would not be returning, as "the Marvel experience was particularly wrenching because I was sort of given absolute freedom while we were shooting, and then in (post-production) it turned into a different movie . So, that is something I hope never to repeat and don't wish upon anybody else ." During the 2015 San Diego Comic - Con International, Jaimie Alexander said that she would reprise her role as Sif in "a very pivotal part" of the film . </P> <P>--Taika Waititi, director of Thor: Ragnarok </P>

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