Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum and Tessa Thompson fill out ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ cast

Marvel Studios ain’t afraid of its feminine side: Tessa Thompson of “Creed� and Cate Blanchett of, oh, everything have joined the cast of “Thor: Ragnarok,� the movie-maker confirmed Friday.

Thompson has dibs on Valkyrie’s sword, and perhaps more significantly, Blanchett will play Hela, a new female villain. You heard right: Marvel is going to feature a wicked, powerful woman who’s significant to the plot in its Chris Hemsworth-Tom Hiddleston franchise.

Also joining the November 2017 release: Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster and Karl Urban of the new “Star Trek� franchise as Skurge, plus Mark Ruffalo will reprise his role as Bruce Banner/The Hulk.

“The sheer, raw talent each of these actors brings to the screen can’t be quantified. Having any one of them join the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be an honor, and having all of them is incredible,� President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige said in a statement.

Idris Elba and Anthony Hopkins will return as Heimdall and Odin, respectively. And Taika Waititi (“What We Do In The Shadows�) will direct.

Blanchett’s casting is particularly interesting after “Iron Man 3� director Shane Black revealed this week that Marvel choked on the idea of a female villain in that sequel because of merchandising concerns.

“We had finished the script, and we were given a no-holds-barred memo saying that [a female villain] cannot stand ... because, after consulting, we’ve decided that toy won’t sell as well if it’s a female,� Black told Uproxx. “So, we had to change the entire script because of toy making. Now, that’s not Feige. ... They never told me who made the decision; we just got that memo one day and it was about toy sales. That’s all I know.�

Maybe the demand for Daisy Ridley’s Rey action figure from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens� — and the flak Disney took over its decision to minimize Rey’s presence on the toy aisle — was a wakeup call.

Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ.

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