The film was directed by Taika Waititi from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and the writing team of Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor alongside Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins.

The film received praise for its acting and Waititi's direction, as well as the action sequences, visual effects, musical score, and humor, with many critics considering it to be the best installment of the Thor franchise.

Unpossessed, Odin explains that he is dying, Ragnarök is imminent despite Thor's efforts, and his death will free his firstborn child, Hela, from Hel, a prison she was sealed in long ago.

Hela, a sibling Thor and Loki did not know existed, was the leader of Asgard's armies and conquered the Nine Realms with Odin, but he imprisoned her and wrote her out of history after she became too bloodthirsty and did not share his views on peace.

[66] The Dark World director Alan Taylor explained that he would not be returning, as "the Marvel experience was particularly wrenching because I was sort of given absolute freedom while we were shooting, and then in [post-production] it turned into a different movie.

[76] On why he decided to pursue directing the film, after stating in 2012 that he had no interest in "big features, where the art of the project was sacrificed for profit", Waititi said he felt "like a guest in Marvel's universe but with the creative freedom to do what I want".

"[83] Feige further explained that initial discussions had focused on doing "something totally different with Thor", and that centered on continuing the relationship with Loki and ideas for Hela, Valkyrie, Balder the Brave, and Beta Ray Bill, "but we were like, 'We need something big.'"

[82] Also in October, Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop announced that filming would take place in the country,[84] exclusively throughout the state of Queensland, including at Village Roadshow Studios in Oxenford, Gold Coast.

[86] At the end of November 2015, Stellan Skarsgård, who portrayed Erik Selvig in the previous Thor films, said that he was contracted to appear should Marvel want to include him, but he was uncertain at the time if they did.

Pearson felt joining presented many challenges, as "there were so many puzzle pieces already there," such as having Blanchett as Hela,[93] who was confirmed in the role a month later,[94] and including Hulk, Valkyrie, and Skurge, that he was asked to assemble.

[124][125] By August, over 100 set and construction workers were given termination notifications, with some complaining that they had been promised work until October or November 2016, and that New Zealand crew members were receiving preferential treatment over the Australian locals.

[127] In mid-September 2016, concept art seen during a set visit indicated Midgard Serpent would appear,[128] and that Sif and the Warriors Three, allies of Thor in the previous two films, would be addressed in Ragnarok.

[23] According to Waititi, 80 percent of the dialogue in Ragnarok was improvised, in order to create a "very loose and collaborate mood" among the cast, and as an attempt to replicate the tone and sensibility from his previous films.

The location was changed to Norway, which Waititi felt gave more weight to the scenes, made Odin's storyline more "authentic", and also allowed the characters and the audience to "chill out for a second, and have that moment, because the rest of the film basically just runs at a clip".

"[145] To help create the Hulk, a person on set was covered in green body paint, and would replicate the intended motions of the character to aid the visual effect artists.

Framestore completed nearly 460 shots, which featured digital doubles of Thor and Hela, Fenris, Korg, Miek, the giant Surtur at the end of the film, and over 9,000 buildings for Asgard, based on assets D Negative had from The Dark World, resulting in over 263 character, vehicle, prop, and crowd rigs.

[151] At the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, a physical model of Hulk's gladiator armor was revealed,[152] concept art and rough animatics were shown,[124] and a "mockumentary" short titled Team Thor was screened.

[178] Beginning October 6, 2017, Disney California Adventure showed a sneak peek of the film at the Sunset Showcase Theater in Hollywood Land, presented in 3D with "special in-theater effects".

[197] Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $174.2 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it eighth on their list of 2017's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".

The website's critical consensus reads, "Exciting, funny, and above all fun, Thor: Ragnarok is a colorful cosmic adventure that sets a new standard for its franchise—and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[181] Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter praised Waititi's handling of "the clash-of-worlds CGI extravaganza", particularly for the lighter tone he brought, with "even the story's central bad guys [being] silly fun, hammed to the hilt by Cate Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum.

"[214] Alonso Duralde of TheWrap wrote, "Both the banter and the fighting, it should be noted, are excellent, so whether you go to superhero movies for the glossy escapism or the pulse-pounding action, you'll get your large soda's worth.

[216] The San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle lauded the performances of Hemsworth, Hiddleston, Blanchett, Thompson, Goldblum and Ruffalo, feeling the film "has confidence in its characters and in its own invention, and so it avoids repetition and stays fresh".

[217] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times similarly praised the film, calling the performances of the ensemble cast "outstanding" and Waititi's direction "goofy and campy and marvelously self-referential".

[219] Justin Chang of Los Angeles Times praised Blanchett's performance of Hela, drawing a comparison of the portrayal of her character to other iconic villains such as Maleficent and Chernabog, and the film's similar themes and tone to Flash Gordon, Star Wars (1977), and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

He also noted a similar directing style of Waititi to Edgar Wright's "parodic work" and labelled the film as "unusually lively and buoyant" while acknowledging the effect of a "Marvel Fatigue factor" towards the audiences.

[223] Stephanie Zacharek of Time magazine stated negatively that "Thor: Ragnarok is packed tight with zooming space vehicles and noisy thunder battles, but the movie's extravagant excess is more narcotizing than energizing."

[224] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called the story "an uninteresting thicket of brawls, machinations and useful coincidences" but did feel that Hemsworth "looks happier and far more relaxed in Ragnarok than he did in the previous Thor vehicles, which is perhaps Mr. Waititi's truest achievement here.

Key points in this discourse include Waititi's own indigenous Māori heritage;[226] Asgard's bloody history and Odin's whitewashing of it, as revealed by Hela; Scrapper 142's burial in alcohol of her ethnic identity as a Valkyrie;[227][228] and the Grandmaster's euphemizing of "slaves" as "prisoners with jobs".

[248] Additionally, Chris Pratt, Pom Klementieff, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, and Sean Gunn reprise their roles as Guardians of the Galaxy members Peter Quill / Star-Lord, Mantis, Drax the Destroyer, Nebula, Groot, Rocket, and Kraglin Obfonteri.