Taika Waititi Done With Thor, Director Leaving Marvel For Good?
Taika Waititi became one of the most in-demand directors in Hollywood after the success of Thor: Ragnarok, the sci-fi comedy romp that finally let Chris Hemsworth show off his comedic skills as well as his muscles. The director’s follow-up Marvel film, Thor: Love and Thunder, was much more divisive, with some bitter fans saying its poor quality was a canary in the coal mine regarding the MCU’s ability to still impress fans.
Now, amid rumors that a fifth Thor movie is in development without him, Variety reports Taika Waititi confirmed “I won’t be involved” because “I’m going to concentrate on these other films that I’ve signed on for.”
Taika Waititi Confirms He Won’ Return To Marvel To Helm Another Thor Movie
It’s worth noting that right now, a fifth Thor film is not officially in production at Marvel. The ending of Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder certainly left the door open for the return of Hemsworth’s character and even introduced an adoptive child for him to take care of.
It’s a great way for Marvel to have it both ways: Thor is available for future solo films and Avengers assemblies, but if we somehow were to never see the god again (which could easily happen in the topsy-turvy world of current Marvel productions), he was given a relatively solid “happily ever after.”
The Director Is Too Busy To Return To Thor
Why, though, is Taika Waititi so confident that he won’t return for a fifth Thor film anytime soon, and why are many fans speculating he won’t return to Marvel at all? The simple answer is that the highly sought-after director is going to be very busy for a long time. For example, he wants to direct a film adaptation of the Alejandro Jodorowsky graphic novel Incal as well as an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Klara and the Sun.
While the latter is likely to be the director’s next film, Taika Waititi is also currently working on an unnamed Star Wars film. He admits that the work is slow: “It’s still marinating,” he says, though he is currently writing the script. Between all of these films and the delays caused by the recent Hollywood strikes, the filmmaker estimates that he wouldn’t be able to tackle Thor 5 or any other Marvel project for another six or seven years.
Waititi’s Relationship With Marvel
With his trademark wit, Taika Waititi compared his business relationship with Marvel to a romantic relationship. Rather than feeling like he should exclusively handle the Thor movies, the director joked that he is in “an open relationship” with Marvel and “if they want to see other people,” meaning hire other directors, “I’m happy for that.” Still, he remains hopeful that he will “get back into bed with them one day” and create another baby–er, movie.
Is He Done With Thor For Good?
Whether Taika Waititi returns to direct another Thor movie may revolve around Chris Hemsworth as much as it revolves around the complex machinations of Marvel’s infamous film phases. Previously, the director has said that he would only direct another Thor film if Hemsworth returned; as for Hemsworth, he isn’t ruling anything out, but he is understandably concerned about exhausting audiences by repeating the same old schtick and no longer being able to reinvent the character as he has done before.
And Will The MCU Even Exist Should Waititi Be Ready?
At this point, though, discussion of Waititi and Hemsworth reuniting over half a decade from now may be premature. Right now, the MCU is crumbling faster than Mjolnir in Hela’s hand, and like Thor’s enchanted weapon, it might take an act of God (or at least, a god) to put it back together again.
