New Zealand director Taika Waititi made a name for himself in Hollywood in 2017 with his work on the MCU film ‘Thor 3: Day of Decision’ and followed five years later with the sequel ‘Thor 4: Love And Thunder’. Waititi was previously known to indie aficionados for the critically acclaimed comedies “5 Rooms, Kitchen, Coffin” and “Where the Wild People Hunt,” for which he served as screenwriter, producer and director. Although joining Marvel ultimately opened many doors for the filmmaker and kept the company’s cash register ringing, Waititi originally wanted nothing to do with these types of films.
Like Waititi recently in the podcast explained that he really only agreed to “Thor 3” for one reason – and that was because of the money: “You know what? I had no interest in making these films. It wasn’t on the agenda for my career as an author. But I was poor and had just had my second child and I thought: ‘This would be a good opportunity to feed these children.’”
Taika Waititi didn’t think Thor was cool as a superhero
Furthermore, Waititi was particularly uninterested in Thor as a superhero, whose comics he considered among the Marvel series least loved by fans: “And ‘Thor,’ let’s be honest, was probably the least popular franchise. I never read the “Thor” comics as a kid. That was the comic I picked up and said, ‘Ugh.’ And then I did some research and read a “Thor” comic, or eighteen pages, or however long they are. And I was still amazed by this character.
Yet Waititi did not believe in the success of the franchise at the time saw Marvel’s decision to approach him, as a director who was still relatively unknown in Hollywood, as a real stopgap: “I think they ran out of suitable places. I thought, ‘You called me, this is really a last resort.'”
Waititi’s ‘Thor’ films ultimately became a real success for Marvel – not least because of the director’s very own humorous style. The third installment of the series grossed approximately $853 million worldwide and received some good reviews. “Thor 4,” which grossed more than $760 million at the worldwide box office, is only slightly behind the success of its predecessor, even if reviews here were no longer as euphoric.
Due to his busy schedule, Taika Waititi will not be involved in a possible fifth installment in the Thor series, but recently revealed that he is not ruling out a return to the MCU in a few years. He made it clear: “I love Marvel. I enjoy working with them.” Waititi clearly doesn’t regret his decision to join Marvel and “Thor” due to a lack of money.