Taika Waititi Didn’t Know Hercules Was A Marvel Character
Knowing every issue and every storyline in Marvel comic books would take a long time, and Taika Waititi had no idea that Hercules was part of those storylines in comics.
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For those who have not seen Thor: Love and Thunder, look away, there will be spoilers for the rest of this article. For those of you who have seen the newest Thor adventure, you would know about one of the biggest cameos that took place as a post-credits scene in the film. Russell Crowe’s Zeus was “killed” by Thor and his friends, only to be alive and well at the end of the film. Well, he might not be well, as he took a lightning bolt through the chest. However, he told his son to then go after those who disrespected him. Who is Zeus’s son? Hercules. Though Hercules has been part of Marvel for decades, director Taika Waititi had no idea that he was. According to Waititi, “And then [Louis D’Esposito?] is like, we’re gonna introduce Hercules, and um, that made no sense to me, I didn’t even know that was a character in Marvel, but um, apparently it is, and um… It was good.”
In defense of Taika Waititi, not a lot of people know that Hercules is part of Marvel’s continuity. Well, that’s to say a lot of casual fans of Marvel don’t realize there are a ton of mythological gods that have been brought into comics. Marvel has Hercules, Zeus, and Lucifer just to name a few. Thor, Loki, and Odin are also mythological gods, but far more popular in the terms of comic books. For those who have not been reading Marvel for decades, you likely would not know those gods exist. The inclusion of Zeus was big enough, but adding Hercules opened the possibility of more gods appearing within the MCU. That inclusion is something that Taika says he won’t be a part of, which is a bit dramatic. He could be stating that he is likely not going to be directing the next Thor film, or he won’t be directing whatever MCU entry Hercules appears in next.
Quite honestly, we are not sure where Hercules would fit in the MCU, other than if he is going to go directly to fight Thor in his next film. However, he could play a role in the drama that is going on in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Though we were briefly shown the collection of gods when Thor was speaking to Zeus, that could have included the Atlanteans. That mythical race is meant to play a much bigger part in Black Panther 2, including that of Namor. Namor is a bit of a god himself, so maybe Hercules will seek Namor out for some reason. This is just speculation, but it could be true. Taika Waititi could bring in more gods if he directs the next Thor film.
Whatever journey Taika Waititi takes next, we are sure he is going to be a success. The hope is that he does plan to direct the next Thor film. He has stated that he will return if Chris Hemsworth does. Although this newest entry has been the lowest rated, it still holds the charm that is in most of Waititi’s films. Plus, if we can get more screaming goats in the next film, it will be perfect. If Waititi does return, he will also need to brush up on some Hercules Marvel stories, that way he knows the context of why the Greek god exists in the comics.
