Aside from all the silliness about counter-campaigns being run by disgruntled DC fanboys, and haters trying to spread fake news stories about racial assaults at screenings, it’s fair to say that Black Panther has gone down an absolute storm. Of course, amidst such a huge wave of critical and audience gushing, it’s easy to forget that five short months ago most people were saying exactly the same thing about Thor: Ragnarok.
Luckily, ahead of the Thor three-quel’s home video arrival, Marvel have gone and given one of the Blu-ray’s bonus features an early online release, a short film about a couple of very familiar faces.
The key to Ragnarok’s success was director Taika Waititi’s trademark oddball Kiwi sense of humor. His decision to fill the cast with fellow antipodeans such as Cate Blanchett, Karl Urban and Sam Neill meant that the actors and crew were able to cohesively push the characters into entirely new areas, creating a satisfying mix of emotion and humor. One of the funniest creations to emerge from the overall project was Thor’s new housemate, Darryl.
Ahead of Ragnarok’s arrival, Waititi and Chris Hemsworth shot a number of short non-canon films to set the tone of the upcoming movie, by comedically accounting for Thor’s absence from the preceding Civil War. With some help from fellow Avengers actor Mark Ruffalo, it was explained that Thor had taken some time-out from his superhero duties, and had elected to take a short break out in Australia.
During this time, the Odinson has taken up temporary residence in the home of local office worker, Darryl Jacobson (portrayed by actor Daley Pearson). Now, whilst most members of the opposite sex would kill to have Thor as a housemate, the experience turns out to be something of disaster for the unfortunate Darryl. Unable to get rid of his new arrival, he finds both his home and work-life ruined by the vain and egotistical Asgardian lodger.
Exclusive: Watch what happens when Jeff Goldblum’s #ThorRagnarok character moves to Earth. https://t.co/W1oBGLZfoC pic.twitter.com/POXnzwv1O3
— USA TODAY Life (@usatodaylife) February 16, 2018
The new bonus feature explains that whilst the events of Thor: Ragnarok were taking place, Darryl manages to get a job promotion that sees him moving around the world to work in Los Angeles. All alone in his new hometown, the hapless Australian searches for a new housemate on Craigslist, unfortunately only getting one reply to his ad.
Enter The Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), who’s newly arrived in town via a shuttle-trip from Sakaar. With his beloved bodyguard Topaz dead, and the slaves (sorry, ‘Prisoners With Jobs’…) in full revolt, he’s had little choice other than to seek sanctuary elsewhere. And in Darryl he feels he may well have found his new Number Two…
It’s great to have Goldblum back in action again as the personable yet power-crazy ruler, and it’d be nice to see him again in at least one of the studio’s Phase Four releases. It’s also a brilliant way to keep fans engaged and excited in the short wait until they can take Thor back to their homes.