The Thor movies have always been a bit weirder than the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies (pre-Guardians of the Galaxy at least) but it wasn’t until Thor: Ragnarok that the franchise really embraced and leaned into that weirdness. Taika Waititi’s crazy and colorful film reinvigorated the Thor franchise and seemingly Chris Hemsworth’s interest in the role. Now Taika Waititi is returning to direct Thor: Love and Thunder and he’s teasing that it will be even crazier than Ragnarok. He said:
It's going to be bigger and louder and more bombastic. It's only interesting to me if we're doubling down on how nuts Ragnarok was.
You may have thought that you’d already seen just how crazy the director of Thor: Ragnarok and the upcoming Jojo Rabbit can go, but you haven’t seen the half of it. Taika Waititi is returning for the fourth Thor film and he is aiming to outdo Thor: Ragnarok in every respect. Although he doesn’t let any details slip about how he plans to do that, he promises that Love and Thunder will be bigger, louder and more bombastic so he’s clearly aiming high.
With Taika Waititi returning for Thor: Love and Thunder (thereby delaying Akira), I think most fans assumed we’d be getting more of that Ragnarok flavor for Thor’s fourth solo MCU movie, but just matching what he did before isn’t enough for the director. As he told Wired, another Thor movie is only interesting to Taika Waititi if he’s able to double down on how nuts and crazy the previous outing was.
That means that we’re in for an outrageously wacky Thor movie to close out the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4. What that means for the film itself we’ll have to wait and see but you can imagine it’ll be absolutely wild if the heavy metal, 80s style logo is anything to go by. If I had to guess we’re in store for more of Taika Waititi’s offbeat humor, strange aliens and fun action.
Although Thor: Love and Thunder is still years away, we actually do know a bit about it. We know that Taika Waititi’s Korg will be returning, as will Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie. The biggest surprise about Love and Thunder is that Natalie Portman is returning to the franchise and the MCU for the film and in a story ripped from the comics, her Jane Foster will become the Mighty Thor.
As if fans weren’t already stoked to see Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi’s tease should certainly keep us interested for the next few years until we see the film. Doubling down on the madness of Thor: Ragnarok for Thor: Love and Thunder won’t be easy, but I have full confidence Taika Waititi can pull it off. That said, there is one easy way to deliver something weird and wonderful in this movie. That’s right, give us Beta Ray Bill already!
Thor: Love and Thunder bolts into theaters on November 5, 2021. You don't have to wait that long to see more Taika Waititi cinematic craziness though Jojo Rabbit arrives in theaters this November 18.
