By tomorrow morning, thousands of you will have seen Thor: Ragnarok, hopefully agreeing with us that it’s an excellent addition to the MCU. But, I’m willing to bet that not many of you will have spotted the blink and you’ll miss it cameo from everyone’s favorite horse-alien, Beta Ray Bill.
For those not in the know, Bill’s a horse-faced alien from Marvel comics who possesses the rare quality of being worthy enough to wield Mjolnir. As for the easter egg, well, even if you haven’t actually seen the film, you’ll probably know that the plot involves Thor being conscripted into a galactic gladiatorial contest.
Near to the arena is Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster’s HQ, and when our heroes are en route there, they pass a tower showcasing the Contest of Champion’s all-time greatest fighters. Naturally, Hulk is at the top of the pops right now, but cast your eyes a little further down the tower and you’ll spot the distinctive Karbonite features of Beta Ray Bill.
Interestingly, this easter egg is apparently a remnant of a previous draft of the script. That’s because originally, Beta Ray Bill essentially took Hulk’s place in the film’s ensemble. But, as Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige explained, he was cut when it was decided that the threequel would be showcasing Hulk instead.
As a huge fan of the Jade Giant, I’m not going to complain about the green guy’s presence in any MCU installment, but I’ve got to admit that I’m curious as to what mainstream audiences would have made of a character that looks pretty much like Thor, but with a weird alien head. Still, now that he’s firmly established as existing in the MCU and the studio have proven that they’re willing to mine some of the more bizarre corners of the Marvel Universe, I reckon it’s only a matter of time before we’ll see him on screen.
Thor: Ragnarok is now playing in theaters worldwide.