The Dark World Deserves Way Less Hate 13 Years Later

For 13 years, Thor: The Dark World has widely been considered one of the MCU’s weakest links. Since its release, The Dark World can most often be found at the bottom of various Marvel movie rankings, including Screen Rant’s own MCU movie ranking list. However, I think Thor: The Dark World deserves far more credit in 2026, especially after re-watching the movie this week.

Our Super Rant Rewatch series has been taking a look back at as many MCU (and MCU-adjacent) projects as possible before Avengers: Doomsday releases at the end of the year. This week was 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, and I honestly had a better time watching it than I thought I would.

Compared to the other films in Marvel’s second phase, The Dark World is definitely the worst of the bunch, and it does deserve its overall lower ranking. However, revisiting the film now (especially after 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder) has made me reevaluate my stance, something I think the entire MCU fandom should also do 13 years after the film’s release.

Thor: Dark World Deserved Its Place At The Bottom Of MCU Rankings…Back In 2013

Back in 2013, The Dark World felt like one of the first big cracks in the MCU’s armor, with the Thor sequel having several of the issues lower-ranking MCU films are so often criticized for going forward.

Behind the scenes, The Dark World’s production was far from smooth, most notably due to the movie’s rapid production schedule and the departure of director Patty Jenkins, who was ultimately replaced by Alan Taylor. Overall, The Dark World feels like one of the MCU films where the heart and passion were significantly diminished, and it shows on-screen with various inconsistencies and flaws.

The Dark World struggles with pacing, overreliance on CGI, a very one-note villain with Christopher Eccleston being massively underutilized as Malekith, and struggles to meaningfully develop the romance between Thor and Jane Foster. Despite having an Infinity Stone as a key part of the movie’s plot, The Dark World is one of the least memorable MCU movies at the time, paling in comparison to the 7 films that had come before it. None of this is in dispute.

I’ve very much felt the same way about The Dark World for years. Across the board, it’s seemingly always been the easy pick for last place for the entire MCU fandom. However, I’m now feeling the need to argue on the Thor sequel’s behalf, my proposal being that it has perhaps aged better than most are willing to give it credit for.

We Should All Be Taking Another Look At Thor: The Dark World After Endgame/Love & Thunder

Without a doubt, 2019’s Avengers: Endgame definitely reframed my re-watch of Thor: The Dark World.

Thor’s return to Asgard with Rocket during the Time Heist adds some great emotional weight when watching The Dark World again, thanks to Thor’s reunion with Frigga (right before her death). Through this reunion via time travel, Thor reconciles with the fact that he’s no less worthy even in the face of failure. Knowing that that moment is happening in the background (or will happen, depending on your perspective) definitely enhances a Dark World re-watch in some pretty cool ways.

At the same time, you then have something like 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder. I know I’m not alone in my belief that the fourth Thor movie is much messier and far more underwhelming than The Dark World, and it definitely makes the second movie look better in comparison. Love & Thunder arguably wasted Christian Bale as Gorr far more than Eccleston as Malekith, and the movie’s tone is all over the place to a very challenging degree.

Regardless of how Thor: The Dark World looks in 2026 next to or because of other MCU movies, I also believe the movie has some genuinely good elements that all MCU fans can appreciate overall, despite the flaws. Case in point, Tom Hiddleston absolutely shines as Loki in The Dark World, providing one of the strongest performances by far, making the movie a must-watch for fans of Marvel’s God of Mischief.

It all adds up to an MCU movie that’s far more enjoyable on re-watch than it was on first release, 13 years ago.

Looking At Thor: The Dark World Ahead Of Avengers: Doomsday

Portals to the nine realms align in Thor The Dark World

As a fun addition, re-watching The Dark World in 2026 ahead of Doomsday got me thinking more about The Convergence, this cosmic event where the Nine Realms align, creating a scenario where the worlds affect each other’s gravity and physics as the worlds start to overlap.

It’s not an exact one-to-one match, but it does give us this sort of glimpse at the idea of incursions introduced in the current Multiverse Saga, devastating collisions between entire universes that will likely become a huge crisis in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars as the saga comes to a close. While The Convergence naturally wasn’t framed that way at the time, it’s fun to think about the cosmic event being a small-scale version of what’s to come in the MCU (with entire universes colliding rather than just worlds).

At the end of the day, I’m not trying to say that Thor: The Dark World hasn’t magically become this top-tier MCU film. The flaws are still there, and the movie has indeed earned its criticisms. However, my argument is that it perhaps deserves to be less of a punching bag at the very bottom of the list. Now that the MCU consists of nearly 40 films, perhaps The Dark World should be moved a couple of rungs up the ladder (certainly over Love & Thunder).

If you haven’t revisited Thor: The Dark World in a while, I’d highly encourage you to dust off the DVD or fire up Disney+. You might find yourself as pleasantly surprised as I was.

Let us know your thoughts on Thor: The Dark World (2013) in the comments, and be on the lookout next week for our Super Rant Rewatch of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)! You can also check out our Super Rant: Doomsday Preppers podcast on Spotify and YouTube.