Thor: Ragnarok’s post-credits scenes, explained (update)

Thor: Ragnarok is now in theaters. The Taika Waititi-directed sequel is one of Marvel’s silliest movies to date, but that’s not a bad thing. An action movie with the heart of a rock opera, Ragnarok takes risks that few other Marvel movies have, but that doesn’t mean the movie is without a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The post-credits scenes for Ragnarok, in traditional Marvel fashion, combine a goofy, light-hearted scene and an ominous one that contains clues of what’s to come — one about halfway through, and one at the very end of the credits. While one of the scenes doesn’t need too much explaining (but is worth hanging around for), we need to dive into the other, far more important post-credits scene.

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Thor: Ragnarok — after this picture of Jeff Goldblum.]

Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios

The first post-credits scene is, as is becoming standard for Marvel movies, a mid-credits scene that plays about halfway through. Loki, Thor and the rest of the Asgardian people (plus Korg) are standing on the bridge of the ship they’ve escaped on, floating through space. It’s a difficult time for the Asgardian people, who have lost their home in the wake of total destruction at the hands of Hela, the goddess of death, but the future seems bright, as they’ve decided to travel to Earth to make a new home (presumably in Norway).

That is, until a giant ship appears before them, quite literally blocking them from moving forward and on with their lives. The ship in question is massive — large enough to envelop Thor’s ship many times over. It’s difficult to ascertain whose ship this is or what kingdom it may belong to, but we have a couple of hints that make us pretty confident the ship belongs to the almighty Thanos.

For one, the architecture on the ship is reminiscent of the weaponry, armor and ships used by the Chaitauri in past movies, like The Avengers. We know that the Chitauri are in a league with Thanos. In The Avengers, Thanos’ personal servant, the Other, lends the army to Loki during his invasion of Earth. The markings on the ship in the post-credits scene strike a strong resemblance to the vehicles used in The Avengers.

Marvel

This shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise, though. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been building up to Thanos’ debut as a major villain for years. We’re finally going to see the true power of destruction Thanos is capable of in Avengers: Infinity War, which is just two movies away. It’s up to Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther, set to be released in February 2018, to act as the last entry points into Marvel’s biggest on-screen war yet.

The post-credits scene in question, however, is notably short. It teases the ship — and Thor’s place in the war as the new King of Asgard — but doesn’t actually address any of what’s to come. We’re left to make assumptions based on what we know, and what we’ve been told is to come in the coming months.

That’s why the second post-credits scene is far more enjoyable.

The scene focuses on the Grandmaster, played to perfection by Jeff Goldblum, after a revolution breaks out on the planet of Sakaar. A slightly-disheveled Goldblum tumbles out of a storage bin, addressing the group of hungry scavengers who descend upon him, weapons at the ready. The Grandmaster welcomes them, addressing the revolution, claiming to play a major role in it. You can’t have a revolution, the Grandmaster says, without having someone to revolt against, and he was more than happy to play that role.

Compared to other post-credits scenes in Marvel movies, Ragnarok’s aren’t the best or most informative, but they are in line with the overall tone of the movie. That alone is worth hanging around for, but if you’re pressed to leave the theater before the credits play, you won’t be missing anything too important.

Thor: Ragnarok is now in theaters.

Update: Speaking to The Wrap, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed that the ship in question does in fact belong to Thanos. “We call it Sanctuary II,” said Feige, which is a reference to Sanctuary, also known as Chitauri Space, which is Thanos’ domain as seen in previous films.