One thing we know about Thor: Ragnarok is that it will borrow elements from the popular Marvel Comics storyline, Planet Hulk. Thor will be fighting on a gladiatorial world run by Jeff Goldblum's the Grandmaster, and Hulk himself will be one of the contestants. And it turns out two more key characters from Planet Hulk will be showing up, one of which will be played by director Taika Waititi, who has a habit of putting himself in his movies.
Marvel allowed a select group of journalists to tour Marvel Studios on Monday, and it was there that Waititi confirmed he'd be playing the giant rock creature, Korg, in a motion-capture performance. Another Planet Hulk character to appear will be the insect-like Miek. In the comics, both become a part of Hulk's Warbound, a group of combatants who became like a family to him for a while. Here is Waititi on both:
"His name is Korg, like the piano, and he’s a Kronan! I mean, I know you’ve seen (Thor) Dark World. At the beginning of Dark World, there’s a Kronan there. This is kind of a relation to that guy. He’s not as tall. He’s sort of about eight feet tall, and he’s um, made of rocks. He’s one of the creatures featured in the Planet Hulk storyline along with another character called Miek who is also in the film, so we’re borrowing those from their storyline and putting them in the arena, the Contest of Champions, that the Grandmaster, Jeff Goldblum runs on the planet Sakaar, which the Hulk is the main champion. He’s one of the few characters to befriend Thor on the planet. He helps him out. Sort of explains how things go and becomes an ally to Thor."
Waititi also provided Korg's voice without any kind of alteration, so he doesn't sound at all like the bruiser he resembles...
"We wanted to change the idea of an obvious choice of how the character would sound. Even though he’s huge and heavy, he has a very light soul. He’s very lovable, and has a good amount of humor."
And as for Miek...
"Miek. He’s from the comics as well. He’s sort of like an insectoid. He sort of has a cool exoskeleton with knife hands. He’s basically sort of a larva shaped thing. He controls the exoskeleton with these controls and stuff. He’s way more graceful than Korg. Much more efficient and Miek does not talk."
Sounds like Miek has undergone the most changes as he's pretty chatty (and very important later on) in the comics. I think there's still a chance of a World War Hulk movie at some point, and if that happens you can bet Korg and Miek will be part of it.
Thor: Ragnarok opens November 3rd.
