Taika Waititi would love to annoy fans with another Thor movie
Despite the less-than-rapturous response to Thor: Love And Thunder, Waititi said he’s game to return if Chris Hemsworth is
Aux News Thor
Has that rascally vibe shift finally come for Marvel? Has their Thanos-like grasp on popular culture finally come to an end? Probably not, but Marvel’s Phase 4 initiative, where the studio did what many critics wanted and allowed auteurs to incorporate their style into the MCU, hasn’t gone over particularly well. Chloe Zhao’s Eternals was too boring and too sexy. Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness was too silly and too scary. Now, Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love And Thunder is facing criticism for being a little too Waititian.
Now, like all of these “divisive” blockbusters, some fans love the movie. The A.V. Club certainly gave it one of the more positive reviews, with our Film Editor Todd Gilchrist writing, “Waititi’s work here marks an important and exciting untethering of MCU films from their obligations to a larger mythology.” Yet, one quick look at social media will reveal many disappointed Marvel fans and others defending the movie by saying, “Hey, it’s a comedy! It doesn’t have to be good,” insisting that audiences turn their brain off and enjoy the jokes regardless of their quality.
But we digress. The movie’s making lots of money, and while the less than stellar Cinemascore, Rotten Tomatoes score, and Metacritic score might signal a drop-off next week, it’s safe to say that director-driven Marvel movies clash with what most audiences want from a Marvel movie. That said, Taika Waititi would love to return to Asgard and make another Thor, assuming Thor is in it.
“I would definitely do one, but only if Chris did it,” Waititi told Insider. “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.”
Weirdly, this isn’t the first time a Waititi-directed Thor movie was pitched as a road movie. In 2015, early reports on Ragnarok were that it would be Marvel’s darkest movie and be a road movie starring work friends Thor and Hulk. But maybe a $5 million movie would do him some good. At the very least, it would save Disney’s overworked, underpaid digital effects artists from being flagrantly disrespected by their boss online.
Waititi’s already got a full plate at Disney. After all, he does have a Star Wars movie to make and a soccer comedy, Next Goal Wins, in the hopper for next year. Plus, there’s his TV empire, which includes Our Flag Means Death, Reservation Dogs, and What We Do In The Shadows, three shows that have remained mostly impervious to the slow-rolling exhaustion some feel toward Waititi’s work.
In other more exciting Waititi news, the new season of What We Do In The Shadows premieres on FX tomorrow! Thank the Gods. We need Mark Proksch back in our lives.
27 Comments
I’m just fine with more Taika Waititi. Annoying or otherwise.
ILM visual effects artists are certainly going to have fun working with a director who makes fun of their work.
Special effects guys are adults who can take a joke and laugh at their work. I’m sure they will be fine
People are griping about this most recent movie having too many jokes and stuff, but damn if I hear it through the dulled, shellshocked ears of a person that remembers the first two Thor movies.
Hey, the first movie had one decent joke about how to pronounce “Mjolnir!”
I think that is the second one actually
You are right. I was thinking about this scene
The most important thing is that Darcy is the Phase 1 MCU character we need to see more of.
What a shame that Kat Dennings didn’t get the plumb part in that movie. Portman is literally unwatchable to me.
I thought the first one was fine. But yeah anything is better then Thor: Dark World
first two Thor movies >>>> these last two Thor movies
I acknowledge this take but respectfully play the Uno Reverse card.
I am all for a small-budget roadtrip movie with Thor so long as Beta Ray Bill is riding shotgun.But seriously, bring us Beta Ray Bill.
“Yet, one quick look at social media will reveal many disappointed Marvel fans and others defending the movie by saying, “Hey, it’s a comedy! It doesn’t have to be good,” insisting that audiences turn their brain off and enjoy the jokes regardless of their quality.”
Yup..it’s the top comment here too! Lol.. the irony..they just called out how dumb the movie is, how it’s made for people with no brains..but can laugh on cue.. sad state of affairs cinema nowadays.. lucky a few directors know how make cinema still.. cos it’s seems atleast 90% don’t have a clue..just wanna ‘shake the boat’ ie. Pissing in the face of the lifelong fans of the original I.p’s.. most perplexing is the ‘raising’ of awfully characterised female replacements, by putting down, and ridiculing the original male characters(with a long history, and lifelong fans).. it’s tragically pathetic and wholly contradictory, taking away the men’s masculinity, and throwing it on the ‘empowered’ asshole (that’s how they act them, that’s what they are, shitty people), calling it ‘progression’.. it’s just grossly unimaginative, vindictive, and easily forgotten, easier still to avoid like the plague.. everything disney is touching turns to crap, phase four is shite.. and now Amazon’s getting in on the same action.. jeez! Least everything can be seen free easy enough nowadays lol.. if it’s streamed.. it’s a torrent in minutes.. I’m happy to pay for quality.. this ain’t it though.
I don’t GAF about Marvel anything, but working with them seems like a waste of Waititi’s time, imo. He could be doing more interesting (maybe even important) things with his time. But, yeah, it’s all about the money and thank goodness Americans feel such joy when someone compromises they’re talent for a dollar (Fuck yeah, git it, man). I didn’t know about the Star Wars commitment. That’s disappointing.
Hey, if it means we might get a Star Wars movie that is less than 50% total garbage, I’m all for it.
Good point. The original trilogy – great. Everything else was rescued from the Trash Compactor on the Death Star.
Nah… much to learn to still have…
Hey, if it means we might get a Star Wars movie that will coast over most audience members heads and make dumb YouTube videos about it, I’m all for it.
Maybe if you’d stop shitting on Americans for five seconds and realize that Taika’s got a whole hell of a lot more going on than this one movie, you’d stop being such an asshole. Probably not, though.
“important”, lol. He’s an entertainer, let’s not act disappointed when he doesn’t solve world crises.
Ah yes, the old “These movies are too fun” excuse. It remains about as compelling as “You’re just too stupid to understand the Martha scene.”
“Has that rascally vibe shift finally come for Marvel?” – AV Club“Even if it hasn’t, we’ll keep pushing for it!” – also AV Club
I’m good with more Taika if he forgets whatever his strategy was with Love and Thunder. I don’t trust my film criticism skills enough to say whether or not it was too “Waititian,” but I do think it was a pretty bad movie—not enough heart, too many very flat jokes and performances, and worst of all, pointless in the end.It wasn’t as bad as Doctor Strange, but it also disappointed me more because I loved Ragnarok so much.
Correction-
“We need baby Mark Proksch back in our lives.”