*Warning: Very mild spoilers for a certain joke in Thor: Ragnarok follow. It's not major, honestly, but a spoiler's a spoiler. *
Director Taika Waititi imbued Thor: Ragnarok with a huge and weird sense of humor, but even people who were ready for that probably never expected for there to be a straight-up Shake Weight in the movie. Early on in the movie, Skurge (Karl Urban) is abusing the Bifrost to steal souvenirs from all over the galaxy. One such souvenir is a Shake Weight, Earth's mightiest exercise fad. It's a pretty funny moment, but wait until you hear Waititi's reasoning behind the gag.
The Shake Weight is actually a DC crossover. Oh, that's my Shake Weight. That's mine, and that was something I bought while I was in Green Lantern.
Taikia Waititi may be known for his comedies like What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, but some people may be surprised to know that he once starred in the failed DC franchise starter Green Lantern. He played the requisite best friend character to Ryan Reynolds' Hal Jordan, and while Waititi didn't get much from the movie, it did provide him with an opportunity to one day do an outside-of-the-box kind of DC crossover. The Shake Weight seen in Thor: Ragnarok belongs to Waititi, and he bought it during the production of Green Lantern.
The director told the story to Fandango about how he originally acquired the Shake Weight in a late night infomercial spending spree (who says those infomercials don't work?). Out of boredom, Taika Waititi bought a slew of products, but the only thing he ended up keeping was the Shake Weight. Fast forward a few years later and it's getting shipped to Australia to be in a big-time Marvel blockbuster.
So I was in New Orleans and I was in Green Lantern, but I was barely doing anything. I'd be in my hotel room and it'd be like 1 AM, and the infomercial for the Shake Weight came on. I was like, 'Screw it! I guess I'm buying everything I see on TV tonight -- I'm gonna buy knives and some sewing thing.' I bought exercise DVDs, too, but the one thing I bought that I kept was that Shake Weight... and then I had it shipped to Australia and I put it in the movie.
What else would you expect from the man who turned the Thor franchise into a Comedy with a capital "C"? Thor: Ragnarok is not afraid to get weird, which has led it not only being called the best of the Thor movies but even the funniest movie that Marvel has ever made.
If you'd like to see the worthiest Shake Weight in the universe then check out Thor: Ragnarok, in theaters right now
