Cate Blanchett talks Thor: Ragnarok and Ocean’s Eight

Her role in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ’The Hobbit’ trilogies notwithstanding, the esteemed Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett isn’t necessarily known for starring in blockbusters – but two of her upcoming roles are in major franchises, which look likely to make a bundle at the box office.

The 47-year old Australian star – who was named Best Supporting Actress by the Academy in 2005 for ‘The Aviator,’ and later won Best Actress in 2014 for ‘Blue Jasmine’ – is set to be seen in Marvel’s ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ next year, and ‘Ocean’s Eight’ the year after. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the actress has discussed these upcoming projects.

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Of ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ Blanchett confirms her character Hela is the villain, wryly noting, “You get to a certain age and you don’t play the hero anymore. [Laughs] You play villains. Villains and drunks.”

While noting she didn’t get to work much with Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo who co-stars in the film, Blanchett says “I did get to work with Chris [Hemsworth] and talk about delightful! He’s just absolutely fabulous. The whole thing was just a riot and fantastic fun.”

Blanchett also praises the sequel’s director Taika Waititi: “He’s just got such a sure hand. He’s wonderful — I’d eat him for breakfast if I could. He’s absolutely delicious. And he’s irreverent which is great because Marvel, at its best, has its tongue firmly in its cheek.”

Of ‘Ocean’s Eight,’ the all-female offshoot of the ‘Ocean’s 11’ series, Blanchett says, “It’s going to be its own thing. [Producer] Steven Soderbergh will be all over it but [director] Gary Ross has been behind the scenes for all the previous ones and understands that universe. So this an interesting side step.”

Sandra Bullock takes the lead as the sister of George Clooney’s Danny Ocean, whilst Blanchett plays a “long-time cohort.” Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kailing, Rihanna and Awkwafina fill out the ensemble.

In the aftermath of this year’s divisive ‘Ghostbusters,’ another feminised-reboot of an existing property is more or less guaranteed to be met with some degree of controversy, and Blanchett naturally has thoughts to offer on this.

“There’s this really entrenched and lazy thinking that says there’s a certain demographic who watches films a certain way and that narratives have to reveal themselves — men should be at the core and women should be an objectified part of that process.

“It’s really deeply uncreative. It doesn’t produce anything interesting for men or women. It’s time to stop talking about these films as “female” projects, and just call them good and interesting projects, full stop.”

‘Thor: Ragnarok’ is due to hit UK cinemas on 27 October 2017, whilst ‘Ocean’s Eight’ is provisionally set for June 2018.

Picture Credit: WENN, Marvel, Warner Bros