Hela’s part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s epic culmination, Avengers: Infinity War is currently up in the air. In less than two months, Chris Hemsworth will have his third solo outing as the God of Thunder in Thor: Ragnarok as he finds Asgard on the brink of doom thanks to Goddess of Death, Hela, who wants to burn his home planet and rebuild it under her rule. It’s been promised Cate Blanchett will deliver the best Marvel villain yet, so, regardless of who wins the film’s epic final battle, fans are wondering if she’ll return.


Next year marks the 10th-year anniversary of the famed superhero franchise, which will be celebrated with the release of its biggest film thus far, Infinity War. Directed by the Russo Brothers (Joe and Anthony), the movie will bring together almost all of the major characters currently existing in the MCU as they prepare to defend the Earth and the rest of the universe against cosmic threat Thanos. He’s backed up by the Black Order, but could Hela also work into this?


During Screen Rant‘s visit on the set of Ragnarok, producer Brad Winderbaum addressed ongoing speculations regarding the Goddess of Death’s supposed participation in next year’s massive Marvel ensemble flick, especially with her strong link to Thanos, as well as the comic book run the movie is based on:

“Obviously we always think about the movies as standalones, even if they do set up a movie down the road or pay off something from a previous film. What we hope, if we do our jobs right, is that Hela is one of the best villains we’ve had – maybe the best, hopefully,”
“Cate has been delivering an incredible performance. She’s really scary and really charming. She’s very easy to watch, very fun to be around. But very murderous and horrible at the same time. You’re right that those are things that Thanos values. But when and how she plays into the future of the universe is uncertain now.”



These comments come from last Fall, before Infinity War began production and thus its hard to know if Winderbaum is playing coy, doesn’t know or the decision hadn’t been made yet. In the comics, Thanos embarks on his universe-dominating quest of collecting the Infinity Gems to impress the literal embodiment of Death, which many think will be represented in the MCU by its Goddess. At the very least, the two movies are strongly connected, with Ragnarok‘s ending spilling over into Avengers 3.



Principal photography for Avengers: Infinity War has already wrapped up, so by this point Blanchett’s involvement will be lock. Even if the villain doesn’t make an appearance in Avengers 3, there’s a window of opportunity for her to come back into the MCU fold is still plausible via 2019’s Avengers 4 where Thanos is also returning. Presuming she survives Thor 3, of course.