Hela was originally intended to be the villain of Thor: Ragnarok are thought of in very different , with the former often regarded as one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's weakest movies and the latter as one of the best in the franchise. One of the biggest marks in Thor: Ragnarok's favor is its villain, Hela, played by Cate Blanchett.
Hannibal and was instead replaced by Christopher Eccleston. Since the release of Thor: The Dark World, both Taylor and Eccleston have made their disdain for the film known. Despite being vital to the Infinity Saga, it is often seen as a miss from the studio.
Malekith was not the original villain planned for the film, with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirming in 2017 that it was "almost" Hela. Now, in The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry, producer Craig Kyle reiterates Hela was the original villain in Don Payne's pitches for Thor: The Dark World. However, Marvel Entertainment's concerns over female action figures led the team to use Malekith and the Dark Elves instead.
This is far from the first time Marvel Entertainment used toy sales regarding female action figures to influence an MCU film. Rebecca Hall's Maya Hansen was originally set to be the main villain of Guardians of the Galaxy.
The meddling in Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World, along with the troubles behind the scenes between Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Studios over the ending to Captain Marvel made over $1 billion worldwide, Black Widow finally got her own solo film, and the studio is hard at work on projects centered on Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, and Ironheart.
Source: The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
