One of the things that Marvel has been really good at is blending their superhero action with quality comedy. From the first moment we met Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, we knew that humor was going to be a major part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now the man who bring us the next adventure of the God of Thunder promises that Thor will be funny too.
In a recent interview as part of the Sundance Film Festival, the director of Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi was asked how he planned to bring more humor to the latest Thor film. His explanation to The Wrap, gave us a little indication of his own sense of humor, as his apparent strategy was actually a joke to begin with.
I’ll take the second film and just add some jokes to that.
So the good news is that Taika Waititi actually has a sense of humor, so he should be able to bring some of it to the film. The last Thor film lived up to its title of The Dark World as it was a bit more serious than it’s predecessor. The first Thor film wasn’t exactly a laugh riot, but it did include a number of "fish out of water" scenes where the banished Asgardian had trouble adapting to his new surroundings. The second film had...Tom Hiddleston. Hiddleston has been very funny as Loki over the course of two Thor films and the first Avengers movie, but it’s unclear at this point how much of Loki we’ll get in the next film, if any. When last we left Loki he was busy impersonating Odin, so even if we get a lot of "Loki" in the next movie, he may be played mostly by Anthony Hopkins. All signs point to a new antagonist in the new Thor as well, which implies a reduced role for Hiddleston.
With the series' primary source of comedy potentially having a reduced role, it will be all the more important for the film to make an effort to make sure that the Thor: Ragnarok still has some humor in it; exactly where that could come from is anybody’s guess. Our new villain might have a sense of humor of her own. The word is that Cate Blanchett is close to coming on board and we know she’s certainly capable of being funny. It’s also possible that Thor himself might just have picked up a better sense of humor in the interim, but that might actually be a little weird.
The filmmakers look to bring some fun to Thor: Ragnarok and we’ll certainly be looking forward to it. Besides, what’s funnier than the end of the world, right? Thor: Ragnarok will fly into theaters on November 3rd, 2017.
