Recalling his first day of filming for Thor: The Dark World as the Dark Elves leader, Malekith the Accursed, Christopher Eccleston says, “It was when the Ark crashes into Asgard. I come off the ship, blow up the throne and then stride through to have my confrontation with Odin,” he says. “Pretty good first day, destroying Asgard. That’s what it says in Malekith The Accursed’s diary: ‘Tuesday. Destroyed Asgard,” he says. According to Empire magazine, it "took six hours of make-up and 45 minutes in wardrobe" for Eccleston to get into character as the villain. Describing acting in the prosthetics and costume as “like washing your feet with your socks on,” Christopher Eccleston explains that he most enjoyed bringing alive a “magnificent design,” sharing scenes with Anthony Hopkins and working Alan Taylor, who he praises as “a magician with performance and with actors…For a film which is so beholden to the technicalities, that’s a magical thing to bring.” As for Malekith's motive in the Marvel sequel, Eccleston says, “There is a kind of tragic quality to his quest. Because he’s lost his wife, he’s lost his children. He’s lost everything. And he returns for revenge. And the agent for his revenge is the Aether. If he gets hold of that, he is omnipotent.” Even Empire wasn't informed of the nature of this Aether, but according to ancient & medieval science (per Wikipedia), it's the material that “fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere.” Hmmm
While set photos & videos offered a glimpse of Thor and Malekith duking it out at Greenwhich in London last year, it seems their battle in Thor: The Dark World will carry over to London’s famous skyscraper 30 St Mary Axe - “you know, sliding up and down The Gherkin, being flown here and there, scrabbling in mid-air, trying to get to each other’s throats,” says Eccleston. Furthermore, it's revealed that Malekith's race, the Dark Elves, were banished by Odin’s father 5,000 years earlier and "confined to a vast vessel known as the Ark." Director Alan Taylor describes them as “otherworldly and creepy, but also kind of beautiful - not just monsters…and not orcs!”
Marvel Studios’ “Thor: The Dark World” continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s “Thor” and “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano and Jaimie Alexander with Rene Russo & Anthony Hopkins as Odin, “Thor: The Dark World” is directed by Alan Taylor, produced by Kevin Feige, from a story by Don Payne and screenplay by Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely and is based on Marvel’s classic Super Hero Thor, who first appeared in the comic book “Journey into Mystery” #83 in August, 1962. “Thor: The Dark World” is presented by Marvel Studios. The executive producers are Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Victoria Alonso, Craig Kyle and Nigel Gostelow. The film releases November 8, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios.