"Thor: The Dark World" is the sequel to 2011's Thor and the eighth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Alan Taylor is taking over the director's chair from Kenneth Branagh and the film will releases on Nov. 8, 2013.
The title has fans of the comic books speculating on who will be the film's main antagonist. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has said the sequel would "take Thor literally to other worlds" and would "primarily be the journey of Thor and Jane Foster. The film will also look at other areas of "The Nine Worlds."
The film's main villains will be the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim, and Variety reports that "Lost" veteran Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje will play Kurse, who is considered the most powerful of the race of Dark Elves, and was known as Algrim the Strong. He is coerced by the Dark Elf ruler Malekith the Accursed to fight Thor. Kurse possesses strength that is four times that of Thor and he has natural dark elf physiology and mystical augmentation. Variety has also reported that Christopher Eccleston is set to play Malekith.
So now that we know that Thor is set to faceoff against the Dark Elves, let us speculate about what other potential villains could sneak into the new film with some choices being likely and others being far-fetched. Read about Thor 2's possible inclusion of Dr. Strange here.
Perrikus: in the comics, the Thor accidentally frees Perrikus from a prison in Asgard, allowing Perrikus to rejoin with his brethren, the Dark Gods. These gods were revealed to be the evil opposites of the Norse gods. Over a millennium ago, the Dark Gods first invaded Asgard, where the two godly-factions entered into a full-scale war. The Dark Gods were defeated and Perrikus was imprisoned. Perrikus is considered the god of Power Unlimited and Energy Infinite. He possesses superhuman strength; endurance and a high-resistance to injury. He wields a magical scythe capable of energy projection and the ability to damage Thor's hammer Mjolnir. Perrikus inclusion into the film will give the sequel a villain powerful enough to match The God of Thunder.
The Fenris Wolf: is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe, loosely based on Fenrisulfr from Norse mythology. The wolf is a creature of Asgardian origin, said to be offspring of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. While the creature can't be a main villain it would great to see Thor face the beast at least once in the new film.
The Enchantress Amora: In her first appearance, she is sent by Odin to eliminate Thor's human love interest Jane Foster, whom Odin sees as a distraction. Adding her as an integral part of the film would convolute the movie's plot way too much, but she is an important villain in the Thor universe and should at the very least have a cameo.
Hela: is the Asgardian goddess of death in the Marvel Comics universe, based on the Norse goddess, Hel. The ruler of Hel and Niffleheim, the character has been a frequent foe of Thor. Bleeding Cool has recently reported that a main character will die in the sequel. Perhaps this means Thor may have to take a trip to the underworld.
Thanos: In an interview with MTV, "Thor" star Chris Hemsworth shot down the idea of Thanos as a main villain in the sequel saying: "We need a bigger fish," he said, while calling Thanos as a villain "Too easy." But that doesn't mean the Mad-Titan doesn't make at the very least a cameo. If you remember the Infinity Gauntlet made a brief appearance in the first film. So a Thanos scene is very possible.
