Thor: Love And Thunder's director has an interesting idea for the next movie, and some conditions ... [+]
Not everyone was expecting another Thor film after Thor: Love And Thunder.
It turns out that both director Taika Waititi and star Chris Hemsworth were surprised when they saw ‘Thor Will Return’ pop up at the end of the film.
"I'm not joking. I saw it in the theater and I was like, 'Oh, shit. Really?' Even Chris was like, 'What?' But, of course he'll be back. He's the best character. I mean, I may be a little biased, but he's the most fun to watch," Waititi told Insider.
Waititi—whose latest MCU entry has not earned the high praise that Thor Ragnarök received despite being a very funny movie—isn’t sure he’d come back to the franchise anyways, at least not without some conditions.
Specifically, the next Thor would need to be totally different than any of the past films. It would need to be “surprising and unexpected” according to the director.
"Now, I don't know what would be next," Waititi says. "I would definitely do [Thor 5] but only if Chris did it. But it would need to be something surprising and unexpected for me to want to do it. Like what would be the new take? The battles and all the fighting is fine, but I would want something that feels unexpected when it comes to the story. Like making just a $5 million movie with no fighting at all, just Thor on a road trip. Like 'Nebraska.'"
Nebraska is an award-winning 2013 film directed by Alexander Payne that starred Bruce Dern as a man who believes a million dollar sweepstakes junk mail actually means he won a million dollars and is trying to get from Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska to collect his winnings. This ends up being a roadtrip / family saga that’s humorous and touching and quirky. The entire thing is shot in black and white.
Nebraska
In other words, it’s nothing at all like a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. I suppose it’s closer to something like Logan minus all the ultra-violence.
I think going that direction with a Thor movie is a terrific idea. A roadtrip or some kind of humorous character sketch that can play on Thor and his daughter and focus a little more on the supporting cast like Tessa Thompson’s King Valkyrie.
Would Disney ever go for it? That’s harder to say. The MCU has a lot of formulaic beats and Marvel doesn’t like to stray too far from what audiences have come to expect. But maybe if they want Waititi and Hemsworth enough they’ll go for it.
And sure, not all audiences would be excited about this kind of departure, but I bet a lot of people would eat it up. The MCU has done a phenomenal job of crafting a cohesive connected universe, but I think it’s time to branch out and do something different from time to time. And different doesn’t have to mean edgy like DC’s Joker either.
Occasionally, I believe that the MCU’s success at crafting such a polished shared universe for all of its superheroes can also be one of its weaknesses. One reason WandaVision was such a delight is that it did something so entirely new, though toward the end even that show stumbled into predictable and formulaic territory.
Many talented directors, from Taika Waititi to Chloé Zhao to Sam Raimi have brought their talents to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, and while they’ve each left their mark, they’ve also each signed on to march in lockstep with the greater MCU project and all that entails.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 15: Taika Waititi poses during a photo call for Thor: Ragnarok on ... [+]
Waititi also says that he “knew better than to get too comfortable or think that I could get away with whatever I wanted” with Love And Thunder.
“We had already talked with Kevin Feige about a few ideas for this film, but you can never be sure,” the director said, “because once you get comfortable, that whole section of the film you love so much gets cut out and you have to go in a different direction,” Waititi said. “That’s the best thing about working with Marvel. They’re always challenging you in that way.”
This can be read several different ways. Maybe Waititi genuinely means that he loves working in this kind of structure, where he doesn’t have to pay too much attention to the details because Marvel’s producers will make sure everything fits. Or maybe he means that they’re “always challenging you in that way” a bit sarcastically, like maybe he’d rather be able to do the crazy, weird things that he thinks of instead of being kept in line all the time.
It’s hard to say. He did just recently say he was against Director’s Cuts so maybe he really does like the MCU way of doing things. Then again, he has a pretty good idea for Thor 5. I just doubt Feige and the powers that be at Disney will see eye to eye.
