While THOR: THE DARK WORLD may not have been the best received film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there is no doubt that the names “Thor” and “Loki” give fans a lot of intrigue. Their relationship is one of the better ones in the MCU, and the latter character has even created a whole new fandom in and of himself. Add in Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk to the mix, and you have what seems to be a recipe for gold. It’s with all this anticipation that we’re going into THOR: RAGNAROK, another ambitious entry Marvel’s franchise, and what I hope will be the strongest flick of the THOR trilogy.

Production is currently underway in Australia, and we’ve seen surprisingly little: a few set photos here, and a video of Mark Ruffalo running around with a pair of giant green fists covering his own. Now, thanks to the Gold Coast Bulletin, we have a few new set photos, which we can assume makes up Asgard.

These photos do not come without bit of controversy attached, however. More on that after the photos:

According to Gold Coast Bulletin, Marvel Studios has handed out terminations to up to 80 employees of the production last Friday.

“There’s quite a lot of antagonism about how the New Zealand crew is being well looked after and seem to be in charge of a lot of main jobs,” one crew member said. The outlet noted that the director, Taika Waititi is also of New Zealand descent, but there is no evidence that this has anything to do with the termination of these non-New Zealand-based employees.

Another upset crew member said, “I came back from Europe for this job and was told I’d have at least six months’ work. I got a week’s notice and haven’t had time to organize work. I’ve got a mortgage and kids to feed. They’ve looked after their own and it’s the locals who have all suffered.”  

So what’s happening on the set? Was Marvel Studios upset with the work that was being done by the Australian locals? That doesn’t appear to be the case. 

 According to Annastacia Palaszczuk, the Australian Premier of Queensland, they are simply done with their work.

“What we have seen is that the stage for Thor has been completed and those jobs are finished. As the construction comes to an end, what we will see is more jobs when actors come in. I don’t have any concerns. I’m very satisfied.”

Based on all this evidence, the real culprit seems to be whoever planned the production. It appears they hadn’t properly estimated how long these sets would take, and as such, has put these workers in a tough spot. Will this affect the overall THOR: RAGNAROK production? It doesn’t sound like it.

THOR: RAGNAROK hits theaters on November 3, 2017.

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SOURCE: Gold Coast Bulletin (via Comic Book Movie)