Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the eighth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the second film of Phase Two. It is the sequel to 2011's Thor. The film was directed by Alan Taylor, with a screenplay by Christopher Yost and the writing team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor.

Plot
In the distant past, a cosmic event known as the Convergence occurs, opening portals between the Nine Realms. A sinister race called the Dark Elves attempts to use the Convergence as a way of unleashing the Aether, a force of destruction with the capability of destroying the entire galaxy. The exact origin of the Aether is unknown, but it is known that it is one of six powerful objects that predate the universe itself. The leader of the Dark Elves, Malekith, nearly succeeds in using the Aether to cause the instantaneous destruction of the Nine Realms under the misguided belief that he can recreate them in his own image. He is opposed by Bor, the then-king of Asgard and the father of Odin, who uses the Bifrost to rip the Aether from Malekith's grasp just as he attempted to enact his plan, robbing the Dark Elves of their most potent weapon. Driven back to their home world, Svartalfheim, it becomes apparent that the Dark Elves cannot defeat the Asgardians and are all but wiped out in the battle. While the Asgardians, unable to destroy the Aether, seal it away in a place it can never be found, Malekith, his lieutenant Algrim, and various survivors manage to escape into suspended animation, vowing to one day return and finish their plan.

5,000 years later, sometime after the Chitauri Invasion, Loki is brought before Odin in shackles. The Allfather gives Loki a life-sentence in prison for his crimes against humanity. Meanwhile, in Vanaheim, home of the Vanir, Thor, alongside warriors Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, and Sif, fights against the Marauders, a ragtag group of invaders that have been systematically terrorizing the Nine Realms for the past two years. The Asgardians win the battle, and while Hogun remains on Vanaheim to help his people rebuild, Thor and his friends return to Asgard via the Bifrost Bridge, which was repaired by the power of the Tesseract. A party is held in celebration for Thor's victory, but he leaves quickly. He visits Heimdall daily, asking each time how Jane Foster is faring. Odin clearly does not approve of Thor's affections for Foster as she will be dead long before him.

Back on Earth, Jane Foster is in London, having been called there by Erik Selvig to investigate readings of unknown nature. After having not heard from Thor for some time, she goes on a date with a man called Richard Madison. Their date is quickly interrupted by Darcy Lewis, who explains that Foster's scientific equipment has been picking up strange signals, signals that have not been detected since the events that took place in New Mexico two years prior. They get in a car where Lewis' own intern, Ian Boothby is waiting for them, and drive to where the signal is the highest and end up at an abandoned storage house. They find that a number of portals have opened, linking the Earth to several different worlds and altering the laws of physics, causing gravity to shift without warning. While Lewis and Boothby continue to play around with the portals, Foster is swallowed up by one of them and transported to an unknown planet. She finds herself in a dark chasm, where a strange vault is located. Upon touching the vault, a red substance, the Aether, emerges from it and infests her body. Passing out, Foster is teleported back to Earth, waking up five hours later. She walks outside where Lewis and Boothby have been waiting. The police had been called there by Lewis and consequently attempt to arrest the three for trespassing on private property; a policeman tries to touch Foster, but the Aether forces him away. Thor suddenly arrives, seeking to investigate Foster's well-being, as Heimdall lost sight of her after she disappeared. While overjoyed to see him, Foster slaps Thor in the face for taking two years to visit her even though he was on Earth during the battle of New York. Thor apologizes to her, but then takes her to Asgard to investigate the nature of the Aether.

Once there, Heimdall greets them, but Jane Foster is quickly taken to the healing chambers so that they can learn what's wrong with her. They find the Aether in her body, but they don't know what it is. A physician called Eir tries to remove the Aether from Foster but fails. Odin, furious that a human has entered Asgard, orders for her to be taken back to Earth, but when a guard touches her wrist, the Aether reacts defensively just as it did with the police. Odin, recognizing the Aether, tells Foster of its many possible origins using the Book of Yggdrasil, and how the Dark Elves nearly used it to destroy the realms. While Odin works to find a way to remove the Aether without killing Foster, Frigga befriends her. Frigga has secretly been attempting to convey her disappointment to Loki regarding his actions, but he has rebuffed her every time.

Meanwhile, alerted by Foster's use of the Aether, Malekith, and his ilk awake from their long sleep. Consumed with vengeance and eager to procure the Aether to once again transform the universe into darkness, the Dark Elves plotted their next offensive against Asgard. Under Malekith's orders, Algrim allows himself to be captured by the Asgardians while in disguise as a Marauder and, using vile technology, turns himself into Kurse, a superpowered warrior that the Dark Elves used frequently in their war against the Asgardians. He frees all the prisoners except Loki, and they start a prison riot, distracting the Asgardians so that Malekith can lead his squadron of ships into Asgard with little opposition. A battle takes place, during which the palace is breached and heavily damaged. Frigga, having suspected the diversion, lures Malekith into a duel by creating a holographic replica of Foster. Frigga nearly succeeds in besting Malekith, but Kurse intervenes and mortally wounds her when she refuses to give up Foster and the Aether's location. In retaliation, an enraged Thor disfigures Malekith's face with a bolt of lightning, forcing the Dark Elves to retreat. Frigga then dies from her injury.

A funeral is later held for the dead Asgardians and Frigga, and a grief-stricken Odin has Jane Foster imprisoned. Thor knows that Malekith will return for Foster, but Odin, blinded by hate and grief, refuses to release her. So, Thor comes up with a plan to move her, even though he would be committing treason. With Heimdall distracting Odin from them, Thor has Loki freed from his cell, as Loki knows of secret portals that could transport Foster to another world, drawing Malekith away from Asgard. With help from Sif, Fandral, and Volstagg, Thor, Foster, and Loki hijack a downed Dark Elf ship and make their way out of Asgard and to a hidden portal that teleports them to Svartalfheim. As they make their escape, however, Foster's body is slowly being infested by the Aether, draining her of life.

The trio lands in the wastelands of Svartalfheim and by then, Foster's body has completely channelled the Aether, enhancing her perceptions but weakening her physically. Melekith senses the Aether's transfer and confronts the trio on Svartalfheim, and at that moment, Loki appears to betray Thor, cutting off his hand and giving Foster to Malekith willingly. Loki tells Malekith that in return for the Aether, he wants a front row seat to watch Asgard's destruction. Malekith then proceeds to drain the Aether from Foster's body and into himself, but Loki's betrayal is revealed to be a ruse, and Thor's injury is revealed to have been nothing more than a holographic projection meant to lull Malekith into a false sense of security.

Calling for Mjølnir, Thor tries to destroy the Aether, but fails as it is indestructible. Kurse then battles Thor while Malekith and his minions leave the planet, and Kurse quickly gains the upper hand against Thor. Loki comes to Thor's aid, stabbing Kurse through the chest with the sword, but this has no effect on the Kurse, who seizes Loki and drives the sword into his own body. Loki manages to press one of Kurse's implosion bombs, however, and sets it off, destroying Kurse. Loki then apologizes to Thor for his actions and seems to die in his arms. After mourning Loki, Thor and Foster then enter a cave, believing that they have failed in stopping Malekith. Suddenly, Foster's cell phone gains reception and they venture deeper into the cave, finding a portal. The portal teleports them safely back to London. Meanwhile, an Einherjar Guard appears in the same area where Loki died, and returns to Asgard to inform Odin of what transpired.

While Jane Foster has been in Asgard, Darcy Lewis has been fruitlessly trying to reach S.H.I.E.L.D. when she and Ian Boothby see on the news that Erik Selvig has been running around naked at Stonehenge and has now been put in a retirement home for psychiatric care. They go there to get him out, and he tells them his sanity was shaken after being hypnotized by Loki during the Chitauri Invasion. For the past several months, Selvig has studied the effects of the Convergence and has developed devices which can teleport people to different worlds. They meet up with Thor and Foster, and Selvig tells them that the people who lived in England after the previous Convergence had built certain objects to create a secret map to where the Convergence would reach its peak. The location is revealed to be Greenwich. After putting two and two together, Foster theorizes that Malekith plans to spread the Aether through the portals so that he may destroy all of the worlds at once.

They travel to Greenwich the next morning, and when they arrive, they find that a number of portals have opened up above the city, a sign that the Convergence is nearing its peak. Malekith soon arrives, and Thor engages him in battle, with both evenly matched. The fight takes them through various portals throughout the city, transporting them to different worlds. While the two are fighting, the scientists use Selvig's devices to deal with the Dark Elf soldiers, accidentally summoning a Frost Beast in the process.

Thor and Malekith are soon separated by one of the portals, and Malekith, now unopposed, unleash the Aether into the portals. Thor soon regroups with his friends and takes Selvig's devices, noting that while the Aether might be indestructible, Malekith himself is not. Using the devices, Thor impales Malekith with them, allowing Foster to teleport him back to Svartalfheim, stopping his attack. However, Malekith's damaged Ark starts to crash, and nearly crushes Thor and Foster, when Selvig uses the last of his devices to teleport it away; it ends up on Svartalfheim and lands on Malekith, killing the Dark Elf leader. The portals then close, and the ordeal is finally over.

Sometime later, Thor returns to Asgard, where Odin congratulates him on his victory despite the crimes he committed to do so. Odin comments that Thor will make a wise king, but Thor responds by saying he is not ready to bear the weight of the throne. Thor leaves Asgard to reunite with Foster on Earth, but as he leaves, Odin is revealed to be Loki, having faked his death and usurped Odin's throne.

Later, Sif and Volstagg hand over the captured Aether to Taneleer Tivan. Tivan appears eager to take it but is curious as to why the Asgardians don't just keep it secured in their own vault. Volstagg explains that the Tesseract is already on Asgard and that to keep two Infinity Stones in the same place would be unwise. As they leave, the Collector remarks "One down, five to go." Thor returns to Earth, where he happily reunites with Foster, unaware that the Frost Beast that was teleported to Earth during the Convergence is still running rampant through London chasing a flock of birds.

Cast

 * Chris Hemsworth as Thor
 * Natalie Portman as Doctor Jane Foster
 * Tom Hiddleston as Loki
 * Anthony Hopkins as King Odin / Loki (illusion)
 * Christopher Eccleston as Malekith
 * Jaimie Alexander as Sif / Thor (illusion)
 * Zachary Levi as Fandral
 * Ray Stevenson as Volstagg
 * Tadanobu Asano as Hogun
 * Idris Elba as Heimdall
 * Rene Russo as Queen Frigga
 * Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Algrim / Kurse
 * Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis
 * Stellan Skarsgård as Doctor Erik Selvig
 * Alice Krige as Eir
 * Clive Russell as Tyr
 * Jonathan Howard as Ian Boothby
 * Ramone Morgan as John
 * Obada Alassadi as Navid
 * Imaan Chentouf as Maddie
 * Chris O'Dowd as Richard Madison
 * Richard Brake as Einherjar Lieutenant
 * Stan Lee as Stan the Man
 * Steve Scott as Himself
 * Brett Tucker as Einherjar Guard / Loki (illusion)
 * Douglas Robson as Horned Marauder
 * Claire Brown as Hildegund
 * Tony Curran as King Bor
 * Benicio del Toro as Taneleer Tivan / Collector
 * Ophelia Lovibond as Carina
 * Chris Evans as Loki (illusion)
 * Unknown Actor as Kronan Marauder

Development
In April 2011 before the release of Thor (2011), Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige stated that following The Avengers (2012), "Thor will go off into a new adventure." Kenneth Branagh, director of Thor, responded to his comments, saying, "It is kind of news to me. Here's what I would say to that: It's that I'm thrilled they're that confident. I shall wait for the audience to tell us whether there should be a second one, and then if that's a nice conversation to be had among all of us, that'd be thrilling. But I've got too much Irish superstitious blood in me to assume that Thor 2 will happen. But if Marvel says so, then I guess it must be true". Feige later explained that Marvel Studios would gauge how well Thor did at the box office before announcing sequels, but stated, "Don Payne is working on story ideas for a part two. We've got various options with Ken Branagh to discuss coming back, but right now the focus is on the first one. Don is, slowly but surely, thinking about where to take the character next should we be so lucky".

In June 2011, Walt Disney Studios set a July 26, 2013, release date for the Thor sequel with Chris Hemsworth reprising his role as the title hero. It was also reported that Branagh would not be returning as director but would likely be involved in a producing capacity. The Los Angeles Times cited the long commitment necessary for a special effects-heavy epic and the pressure to start the script process right away as reasons for Branagh's departure, although he was initially enthused by the chance to direct the sequel. Branagh noted, "It was a long time making the first film and they were way too quick for me to get straight back into another, but it was a pleasurable experience and a film I'm very proud of." The following day, Marvel formally hired Payne, one of the credited writers of the first film, to script the sequel. In August, Brian Kirk entered early negotiations to direct the Thor sequel. The film would have marked Kirk's first time directing a big-budget motion picture, after having directed television series for HBO, Showtime and the BBC, including Game of Thrones.

In September 2011, Tom Hiddleston confirmed he would return in the sequel, speculating that in the film, "Loki will have to take responsibility for what he's done". Patty Jenkins, the director of Monster and the pilot episode of AMC's The Killing, entered early negotiations with Marvel Studios and Disney to direct the film, after Kirk had passed due to contractual sticking points that arose during negotiations. Later in the month, Feige stated the sequel would "take Thor literally to other worlds" and would "primarily be the journey of that character, of he and Jane Foster and how the new dynamic with his father is working out, as well as what are the broader stakes for The Nine Worlds". On October 13, 2011, Marvel confirmed that Jenkins would direct the sequel and Natalie Portman would return to star. Disney also moved the release date for the film to November 15, 2013.

Pre-Production
In December 2011, Jenkins exited the project, citing "creative differences". She stated, "I have had a great time working at Marvel. We parted on very good terms, and I look forward to working with them again." Jenkins felt she could not have made a good film "out of Thor 2 because I wasn't the right director... I could have made a great Thor if I could have done the story that I was wanting to do. But I don't think I was the right person to make a great Thor out of the story they wanted to do." Jenkins had intended to create a film based on the premise of Romeo and Juliet, where Jane was stuck on Earth with Thor forbidden to come save her. After Thor eventually does travel to Earth, he and Jane would have discovered that Malekith was "hiding the dark energy inside of Earth because he knows that Odin doesn't care about Earth, and so he's using Odin's disinterest in Earth to trick him."

Three days later, it was reported that Marvel was looking at Alan Taylor and Daniel Minahan as prospective directors to replace Jenkins and were also in the midst of hiring a writer to rewrite Don Payne's script, with the shortlist of possible writers consisting of John Collee, Robert Rodat, and Roger Avary. At the end of the month, Alan Taylor, best known for directing episodes of the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, was chosen to direct the sequel. Feige mentioned Taylor's work on the series Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones as reasons for his hiring, saying "With Alan's direction we got a few more layers of patina, of texture, of reality into our golden realm." By January 10, Marvel Studios had commissioned screenwriter Robert Rodat to rewrite the sequel and Hiddleston stated that filming was expected to begin in London in the summer of 2012. Hemsworth later confirmed that filming was scheduled to begin in August. Hemsworth also revealed that the film would have a more Viking-influenced feel, elaborating "I think the science fiction element to Thor… the danger is it falls a little bit into the world of its 'tough to throw a light to.' I think of big waterfalls and mountains and a Viking influence, where the Norse mythology kind of grew from. Having that in Asgard is going to make it all the more special and that's what Alan Taylor wants to bring to it." Feige said "while the relationship between Loki and Thor certainly has changed [after the events of the movie The Avengers and has progressed, a lot of Thor 2 is picking up where it left off in terms of Jane, who you just saw for a moment on a computer monitor, and also what's been going on in the nine realms without the Asgardians being able to use the Bifrost." Feige also said that while Loki has a part, "there will be a different villain, another big villain".

In May 2012, Mads Mikkelsen began talks to play one of the villains in the film and Anthony Hopkins, who played Odin in the first film, committed to returning in the sequel. At the end of the month, Disney moved up the release date for the film a week ahead of the previous date to November 8, 2013. By June 2012, much of the first film's supporting cast was confirmed to return, including Idris Elba, Jaimie Alexander, Ray Stevenson and Stellan Skarsgård. Also, in June, Joshua Dallas announced that he would not be reprising the role of Fandral. Dallas had initially intended to return but had to bow out due to his commitment on the television show, Once Upon a Time, and Zachary Levi was cast in his place. Levi was originally up for the role in the first film but scheduling conflicts with Chuck forced him to drop out.

In July 2012, Mikkelsen stated he would not be appearing in the sequel due to prior commitments, "That's not happening unfortunately. I had a meeting with the filmmakers, but it was a bit too late and then Hannibal came in... It's just not happening". At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, it was announced that the film would be titled Thor: The Dark World. At the end of the month, residents near Bourne Wood in Surrey, England were notified that a film going by the working title, Thursday Mourning would be filming in the area. In August of that year, Christopher Eccleston entered final negotiations to play Malekith, and the film was scheduled to shoot in Iceland, where Taylor shot parts of Game of Thrones. By August 22, Kat Dennings was hired to reprise her role as Darcy Lewis and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was cast as Algrim. At the end of the month, film crews for Thursday Mourning began set construction at Stonehenge near Amesbury, England.

Filming
Principal photography began on September 10, 2012, in Bourne Wood, Surrey, England, under the working title Thursday Mourning. A few weeks later, Clive Russell was cast as Tyr, and Richard Brake was cast as an Einherjar captain. At the end of the month, Jaimie Alexander was injured on the London film set, after she slipped while walking in the rain. On October 12, 2012, production moved to Iceland with filming taking place in Dómadalur, Skógafoss, Fjaðrárgljúfur and Skeiðarársandur. Iceland Review described the shoot as being among the most extensive film projects to have ever taken place in Iceland. Three days later, Disney announced that the film would be released in 3D. In late October, filming commenced at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London. Filming also took place at Shepperton Studios and Longcross Studios in Surrey between October and December 2012. Other filming locations included Wembley, Borough Market, Hayes and Stonehenge. Alexander tweeted that principal photography wrapped on December 14, 2012. In a 2013 report on film production costs for films from FilmL.A. Inc., indicated a gross budget of $170 million, with a UK tax offset of $17.3 million for Thor: The Dark World. In 2016 Disney company accounts stated the budget spend was $237.6 million on Thor: The Dark World but $37 million of this was offset by payments from the UK tax authority.

Kramer Morgenthau, who worked with Taylor on Game of Thrones, was brought in as the director of photography. Morgenthau said, "We wanted a grittier, boots-on-the-ground feeling, inspired by what Alan and I had done on Game of Thrones. We wanted the realms to feel grounded, like a real place, while at the same time respecting the magical 'planet of the Gods' feeling and theme." Thor: The Dark World was Morgenthau's first time shooting a feature film digitally. For the film, Morgenthau chose the Arri Alexa Plus, although he tested with the Sony F65 but found the Alexa to be more pleasing. In addition to the Alexa, Red Epic and Canon EOS 5D Mark II cameras were used for second unit filming. With the Alexa, Morgenthau used Panavision anamorphic lenses. Morgenthau said, "The lenses brought some of the magic and mystery of photochemical back to digital, that big-movie look." Morgenthau also stated that Thor: The Dark World was easily the most technically complex project that he has worked but said, "It's all the same concept and the same principles as in a smaller film. You just scale it up. You do a lot more prep. We had three months of prep and loads of time to pre-rig stages. Part of it is having a really good crew, it's definitely not a one-man show."

Post-Production
In July 2013, Dennings told reporters that the film was about to head into reshoots. In August, Taylor said he shot extra scenes with Hiddleston and was about to shoot more with Hopkins. Taylor explained that it was all a part of the "Marvel process" saying, "We're doing full scenes, scenes that were not in the movie before. We're adding scenes, creating scenes, writing scenes for the first time. The one [involving Loki] was a fun connective scene... We realised how well Loki was working in the movie, and we wanted to do more with him. So it was that kind of thing, it was like, 'Oh, we could do this, we could jam this in here' because he's such a wonderful guy to watch do his stuff." Also, in August, IMAX Corporation and Marvel Entertainment announced that the film would be digitally re-mastered into the IMAX 3D format and released into IMAX 3D theatres internationally beginning October 30, 2013. Taylor said Marvel's The Avengers writer/director Joss Whedon rewrote several scenes in the film explaining, "Joss came in to save our lives a couple of times. We had a major scene that was not working on the page at all in London, and he basically got airlifted in, like a SWAT team or something. He came down, rewrote the scene, and before he got back to his plane I sort of grabbed him and said, 'And this scene and this scene?' And he rewrote two other scenes that I thought had problems." In October 2013, Tony Curran tweeted that he would be portraying Odin's father, Bor, in a flashback sequence. In November 2013, Feige stated that the film was intended to be the conclusion of the "Loki trilogy", which examined the relationship of Thor and Loki throughout Thor, The Avengers and this film. The film's mid-credits scene was directed by James Gunn, the director of Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy.

The film's visual effects were completed by seven special effects studios, including Double Negative and Luma Pictures. Blur Studio was the lead studio behind the film's prologue sequence taking place 5,000 years before the start of the film, on the Dark Elves home world of Svartalfheim. The sequence consisted mostly of computer graphics with live-action shots interwoven throughout. The use of CG allowed for greater freedom of movement by the characters as the live-action costumes were too constrictive.

Taylor wanted Asgard in this film to have a more natural look than its predecessor. To achieve this, crews filmed the coast of Norway with an Arri Alexa camera for three days in a helicopter, capturing six hours of footage. Double Negative then embedded their CG rendering of Asgard on shots of the natural landscape. Double Negative visual effects supervisor Alex Wuttke said, "The benefit of that is that you have some real-world terrain to work with, so you have buildings that have to convey natural features. Then from there we went in there populating the terrain with different buildings." For scenes taking place on Svartalfheim, production filmed in Iceland with Double Negative adding ruins, mountains, Dark Elf ships, and skies.

For the shot of the levitating truck, which was used in the film to demonstrate the strange phenomena brought on by the coming of the alignment of the worlds, filmmakers attached a cement truck to a large hydraulic rig, which could be programmed to change speed and movement. In order to create Algrim's transformation into Kurse, Double Negative morphed live action performances of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as both Algrim and Kurse. Double Negative then added in smoke and lava-like effects.

The film's climactic battle sequence takes place through the nine worlds by the use of portals. Visual effects supervisor Jake Morrison said, "We ended up calling this 'time toffee', so as you punch through from one realm to another it's almost like cling film or a slightly gelatinous membrane you have to pass through. It bends a little bit then rips and spits the person out. The other thing we wanted to do was to make sure it was quite fast from an editorial point of view. In the fight scenes there are times when Thor and Malekith are portalling all over the place, quite frankly. We made sure we always kept up the momentum and never stopped the fight. It was a way of making sure the audience weren't conscious there was an effect going on."

Music
See Also: Thor: The Dark World Soundtrack and Music of Marvel Cinematic Universe

In August 2012, Patrick Doyle said that he had discussions with the director about potentially returning to score the film. By April 2013, Carter Burwell had been hired to compose the score, but by the following month he left the film over creative differences. In June 2013, Marvel hired Brian Tyler, who scored Iron Man 3, to replace Burwell. Tyler said the previous film had an "attitude and was grounded in limitations" whereas the Thor film allowed for "all-out regal themes that could be as epic as I could make them." The composer described The Dark World as "science fiction meeting classic medieval war", leading to a score that drew from works of both genres such as Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. Azam Ali is a featured vocalist on the score. The soundtrack was released digitally on October 28, 2013.

Marketing
In March 2013, Marvel announced the release of a two-issue comic book prelude by writers Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost and artist Scot Eaton in June 2013. In April 2013, Marvel released the first trailer for Thor: The Dark World. Forbes said, "This trailer fits nicely into that larger marketing push for Marvel's brand. It puts all of the recognisable characters from the first film front and centre, presents the action as a team event reminiscent of the Avengers, and once again Loki, who was quite popular with audiences, makes an appearance." The Los Angeles Times said, "Evident throughout the trailer is director Alan Taylor's influence; the Game of Thrones director's hand can be seen in the battle sequences, and Asgard, a bright and shiny kingdom under Thor director Kenneth Branagh, seems grittier in the sequel." In July at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International, Hiddleston introduced footage from the film to audiences in character as Loki. Also, in July, Gameloft announced that a mobile video game titled, Thor the Dark World: The Official Game, would be released in conjunction with the release of the film in November. The theatrical poster for the film was released in early August 2013. Kirsten Acuna of Business Insider criticized the poster for its lack of originality, noting its similarities to one of the posters of Iron Man 3, both of which included the female lead clinging to the male lead, with both looking in opposite directions, antagonists prominently displayed in the background and supporting characters featured "on the side". Additionally, Marvel released a second trailer for the film as part of YouTube's Geek Week. Forbes said, "this 150-second trailer is basically just an extended version of last April's 106-second teaser" and that "this trailer fails to showcase what's new this time around... making audiences question if they really don't have much else to offer." The Los Angeles Times said that the trailer suggests "an ominous, epic scale for the sequel" and that "the collaboration between Thor and Loki promises to be especially interesting." Later in the month, producer Kevin Feige and cast members Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins presented additional footage at Disney's D23 Expo.

Also, in August 2013, Disney announced plans to promote the film with an attraction at Disneyland. The attraction called Thor: Treasures of Asgard, located next to the Stark Industries exhibit inside Innoventions in Tomorrowland, opened on November 1, 2013 and features displays of Asgardian relics and transports guests to Odin's throne room, where they are greeted by Thor. The eighth episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., titled "The Well", takes place in the aftermath of the events of Thor: The Dark World. It first aired on November 19, 2013. Jaimie Alexander reprised her role as Sif in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode "Yes Men", which aired on March 11, 2014.

Theatrical
The world premiere of Thor: The Dark World took place on October 22, 2013, at the Odeon Leicester Square in London. The film was released theatrically in the UK eight days later, on October 30. The film held its North American premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood and was released into U.S. theatres on November 7, 2013.

Home Media
Thor: The Dark World was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment for digital download on February 4, 2014, and on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on February 25, 2014. The physical media release includes deleted scenes, extended scenes, a gag reel, audio commentary by the cast and crew, and a Marvel One-Shot short film entitled All Hail the King, featuring Ben Kingsley reprising his role as Trevor Slattery from Iron Man 3.

The film was also collected in a 13-disc box set, titled "Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two Collection", which includes all of the Phase Two films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was released on December 8, 2015.

Box Office
Thor: The Dark World earned $206.4 million in North America and $438.4 million in other markets for a worldwide total of $644.8 million. It surpassed the gross of its predecessor after just 19 days of its release. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $139.4 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.

Thor: The Dark World made an estimated $7.1 million in Thursday night showings, more than double the midnight gross of its predecessor. On Friday, November 8, 2013, the film topped the box office with $31.9 million (including Thursday night earnings), which is 25% higher than the original film's opening-day gross. Through Sunday, the film remained at the No. 1 spot with $85.7 million, which is a 30% increase over its predecessor's opening weekend. This was the largest November opening for a film distributed by Disney, surpassing The Incredibles. Thor: The Dark World topped the box office in North America during its first two weekends, before being overtaken by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in its third weekend.

On its midweek opening day of Wednesday, October 30, 2013, Thor: The Dark World earned $8.2 million from 33 territories, including the UK and France, where it opened higher than its predecessor. During its first three days, the film earned $45.2 million, and by the end of the weekend, after expanding into three more territories, it totalled $109.4 million over five days, finishing in first place in all 36 countries. Its largest openings were recorded in China ($21.0 million), the UK, Ireland and Malta ($13.8 million) and France and the Maghreb region ($9.94 million). It topped the box office outside North America on its first three weekends of release. In total earnings, its largest markets are China ($55.3 million), Russia and the CIS ($35.4 million) and the UK, Ireland and Malta ($31.4 million).

Critical Response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 66% approval rating with an average score of 6.23/10, based on 271 reviews; the lowest rated film in the MCU. The website's consensus reads, "It may not be the finest film to come from the Marvel Universe, but Thor: The Dark World still offers plenty of the humour and high-stakes action that fans have come to expect." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 54 out of 100 based on 44 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an "A−" average, based on a grading scale ranging from A+ to F.

Ben Child of The Guardian said, "Thanks to Hiddleston and Hemsworth's impressive collective charisma, Thor: The Dark World is far from a franchise killer." Justin Chang of Variety wrote, "This robust, impersonal visual-effects showpiece proves buoyant and unpretentious enough to offset its stew of otherwise derivative fantasy/action elements." Alonso Duralde of The Wrap said, "Thor: The Dark World delivers the goods, action, otherworldly grandiosity, romance, humour, above and beyond its predecessor". Simon Abrams, writing for RogerEbert.com said, "There's just enough tension and humour in Thor: The Dark World to make the film's otherwise listless proceedings worth watching, but only just." Echoing other critics' sentiments, Frank Lovece of Film Journal International wrote, "Is it wrong that the best relationship in Thor: The Dark World is between the titular Norse-god superhero and his adoptive brother Loki? To take nothing away from Oscar-winner Natalie Portman, ... it's the complicated love-hate between Thor and the trickster god Loki that you can't turn your eyes from."

Conversely, Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph said, "It feels entirely made by committee, the definition of house style, without a personal stamp in sight." Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter said, "Although director Alan Taylor manages to get things going properly for the final battle in London, the long stretches before that on Asgard and the other branches of Yggdrasil are a drag, like filler episodes of Game of Thrones but without the narrative complexity, mythical heft or all-pervading sexiness." Michael Phillips of the Los Angeles Times described Thor: The Dark World as having the "same old threats of galaxy annihilation spiced with fairly entertaining fish-out-of-water jokes". Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times said, "the battle scenes are as lacking in heat and coherence as the central love story".

Thor: Ragnarok
See Also: Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok was released on November 3, 2017, directed by Taika Waititi. Eric Pearson and Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost wrote the screenplay, with Kevin Feige again producing. Hemsworth, Hiddleston, Hopkins, Elba, Asano, Levi and Stevenson reprise their roles as Thor, Loki, Odin, Heimdall, Hogun, Fandral, and Volstagg, respectively, while Mark Ruffalo and Benedict Cumberbatch appear as Bruce Banner / Hulk and Doctor Strange respectively, reprising their roles from previous MCU films. Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum and Karl Urban join the cast as Hela, Valkyrie, Grandmaster and Skurge, respectively.

Thor: Love and Thunder
A second sequel named Thor: Love and Thunder is due to be released on November 5, 2021. Hemsworth and Thompson will both reprise their roles, with Natalie Portman returning after not appearing in Thor: Ragnarok. During Marvel's 2019 San Diego Comic-Con panel it was revealed that Portman would portray her character taking on the mantle of Thor, similar to the comics. Thompson revealed that Valkyrie will be the first LGBTQIA+ superhero in the MCU, with the character's sexuality being featured in the film. As the new King of Asgard, Valkyrie will be searching for a Queen; her sexuality was previously hinted at in Thor: Ragnarok, while a deleted scene explicitly depicted the character as such.