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Blanchett is hopeful there will be more women as villains

The movie opens in November

CNN  — 

The newly released teaser trailer for “Thor: Ragnarok” isn’t just delighting Marvel fans for its action.

It also features the first female lead villain in a Marvel film, Cate Blanchett as Hela.

While there have been other women on the dark side, such as Nebula ( played by Karen Gillan) from “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Hela (a.k.a. Goddess of Death) represents the first time such a baddie has been front and center, creating mayhem in the Marvel universe.

Based on the new trailer, she’s pretty tough, capable of destroying Thor’s signature weapon, his hammer Mjolnir.

Asgardian Avenger (portrayed by Chris Hemsworth) is clearly going to have a tough time with Hela.

“Asgard is dead,” she announces in the trailer.

Blanchett is promising a complex villain.

“She arrives with a lot of baggage,” the actress told Entertainment Weekly. “She’s a little bit cross.”

As far as Blanchett is concerned, Hela has been a long time coming.

“Can you believe we’re having this conversation and it’s 2017 and we’re talking about the first female villain,” she said. “It’s ridiculous.”

Blanchett added that it’s exciting to see women stepping into the dark space as “There’s so much untapped potential villainy in women.”

“I think finally it’s beginning to be acknowledged that women and men want to see a diverse array of characters, and that’s race, gender across the sexual spectrum,” she said.

“Thor: Ragnarok” opens in theaters in November.