Mark Ruffalo Says THOR: RAGNAROK Will Be a MIDNIGHT RUN-Style Road Movie

Thor: Ragnarok got a lot of attention a few months ago for reportedly being Marvel's darkest movie yet, but with more recent aspects like the movie's new director, how Odin is going to be treated, and the desire for more comedy in the film, so far it sounds a lot more lighthearted than its title indicates (Ragnarok is the Norse apocalypse). A lot can change between now and when the movie goes into production (and we're obviously only hearing about small elements at a time, not the whole picture), but the latest statement from Mark Ruffalo — who will co-star as Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk opposite Chris Hemsworth's title hero — seems to be the latest thing that points to the movie being a little lighter than we expected.

In an interview with Empire, Ruffalo compared the film to Midnight Run, the 1988 bounty hunter comedy:

“There’s a little bit of Midnight Run, with [Charles] Grodin and [Robert] De Niro,” Ruffalo told Empire. "I feel like that’s kind of where we’re heading with this relationship between Thor and Banner.” So is it a road movie? “It is a universal road movie – that’s where we’re heading,” he says, adding cryptically: “It’s not where you'd think it will be, so it’s not your classic road movie but it has that structure, I think."

I'm very interested to see how Taika Waititi balances the tone of this movie as he tries to course-correct the franchise away from the slightly dour first two movies into something that manages to be dark but funny and a buddy movie at the same time. Sounds like a big challenge.

Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters on November 3rd, 2017.