Of course Taika Waititi cameos as a huge stone alien in 'Thor: Ragnarok'
Prince of hilarious cameos and director of all that is good and funny, Taika Waititi is at it again.
He's revealed at least one of his characters in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok and it's a doozy. Anyone familiar with Marvel comics will already be acquainted: It's your boy, Korg. But not as you know him.
Mashable was among the publications gathered at Marvel Studios in Burbank, California Monday night, where the New Zealand director regaled reporters with details about the outer space rock creature.
Like Thor, it seems Korg has also been exiled to planet Sakaar, forced to battle in the Grandmaster's (a.k.a. Jeff Goldblum's) gladiator style arena. And from the sounds of things, Korg's a big softy, deep down.
Showing footage of Korg rocking a Maori accent, Waititi said "We wanted to change the idea of the obvious choice of how the character would sound -- he's huge and heavy but he has a very light soul," he said. "Obviously, being made of rocks, we would have gotten someone like the Rock to play him, but there wasn’t enough chicken or salmon in Australia to sustain both him and Chris."
"So we got the next best thing, which is this super hot young character actor named Taika Waititi, who I've personally come to love. As a director, I just found I had just all the time in the world for him and I wanted to give him take after take," he said. We know, we know. He's the best.
Waititi also previewed footage of another Sakaar fighter, Miek, an insect-like alien with a crab mouth and knives for hands. "Miek doesn't talk," Waititi said. "He's like Silent Bob."
If you're new to the work of Waititi, you might not realise that the dude is a cameo fiend, appearing in pretty much all of his own films, in memorable, funny as hell moments as well as in larger roles that reveal the extent of his comedic and acting chops.
Fingers crossed Korg isn't the only cameo Waititi will make in the upcoming Thor film. We wouldn't put it past him to sneak another couple in there.
When asked by a reporter if he'd consider playing Korg alongside the other Avengers, he said "I'll lobby for anything. My ego's that big.”
Jerico Mandybur is the editor of Mashable Australia. Previously, she worked as a digital editor at SBS, Oyster Mag, MTV and ASOS. Tweet her at @jerico_m.
