We knew Thor 2 was happening, but now Marvel has released a few more details on exactly when it’ll be happening and what form it’ll take. What you really need to know is that while Chris Hemsworth will be back as Thor, director Kenneth Branagh won’t return.
Branagh was always a strange addition to the world of superhero movies. Before Thor he was best known as that guy who directs those Shakespeare movies. He did a brilliant job with Thor and if you’re at all a fan of this franchise then you probably wanted him back, but it should be no surprise that Branagh might be a one and done superhero director. We've heard rumors from some of our sources that it may have been a money problem, and that Marvel simply didn't want to give Branagh the raise he wanted for the second one. Presumably Kenneth will be just fine with going back to making the little indie movies he's always loved.
That doesn’t mean Branagh won’t be involved in the sequel at all. Deadline suggests that while he won’t direct, he may be involved in Thor 2 in some producing capacity. Branagh's on good terms with Marvel, this isn’t a pissed off director leaving the studio because they wouldn’t let him make the movie he wanted to (as with Jon Favreau and Iron Man 2).
So that leaves Marvel with a big directing job to fill and really, not that much time to fill it. Disney and Marvel have already scheduled Thor 2 for release in summer of 2013. Iron Man 3 is scheduled to be released in the first part of that summer, on May 3rd. Dropping Thor 2 there as well suggests they’re trying to pull off something similar to what they’ve done this summer, by putting both Thor and Captain America in close summer proximity.
