Cate Blanchett Confirmed For 'Thor: Ragnarok'? [Release Date, Cast, Plot & Rumors]

Marvel is in talks with award-winning actress Cate Blanchett of "Lord of the Rings" fame to have a significant role in the upcoming "Thor Ragnarok" film.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the talks are in their final stages, and its almost a certainty that Blanchett will be playing one of the female leads in the film.

Blanchett, who is coming off an Academy Award win for her work in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine", would be a great addition to an already star-studded cast. While the lead Chris Hemsworth was a virtual unknown at the time of the first "Thor" film, the cast did have already established actors and actresses, such as Natalie Portman ("Black Swan"), Anthony Hopkins ("Silence of the Lambs") and Idris Elba ("Pacific Rim").

Comic Book Resources states that the character for Blanchett has not been revealed at this time. However, there are several rumors as to which character in the Thor universe she might play.

The biggest rumor is that the actress is set to play the role of the super heroine Valkyrie, one of the leaders of an Asgardian subset called the Valkyrior. While the character's appearances in recent comics have been scarce, the character does have a rich history with Thor.

Valkyrie is an Asgardian woman who was hand chosen by Odin to lead the Valkyrior, otherwise known as the Choosers of the Slain. The Valkyrior are tasked with bringing the chosen warrior's spirits back to Valhalla, the land of the honored dead, to spend eternity with the other fallen warriors.

The story of "Thor: Ragnarok" is still not known at this time. However, it has been confirmed that Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk) and Tom Hiddleson (Loki) will be in the film as their respective Marvel characters.

The film will be following the events of both "Thor: The Dark World" and "Avengers: Age of Ultron", in which Loki has secretly taken the mantle of Odin without Thor's knowledge, Frigga has died and the Hulk has gone missing.

The events that happen during the film will also explain the dream that Thor had during the "Age of Ultron" film and will also explain why Thor and Hulk are not on Earth during the events of "Captain America: Civil War".

Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost have been tasked with the screen play and Marvel Studio head Kevin Feige will be producing. The film originally had a July 28, 2017 date scheduled debut but that has been moved to Nov. 3, 2017.