Menu

MCU Director Discusses New Stories and New Villains

natalie portman chris hemsworth thor love and thunder marvel jane
Credit: Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios has had a bit of a roller coaster ride since it first debuted over 30 years ago as Marvel Films. When the Marvel Cinematic Universe began with Iron Man (2008), it was a huge success that launched a series of nearly two dozen subsequent films, including Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), and Black Panther (2018).

next avengers movie secret wars iron man robert downey jr marvel studios marvel comics christopher nolan batman superman superheroes

Credit: Marvel Studios

However, lately, the MCU movies have not been performing as well as they once did. There has been much debate over why that is: superhero fatigue, killing off characters, lack of interest in new characters, and multi-verse confusion.

RELATED: Marvel Comes to ABC in Historic (And Desperate?) Move

Taika Waititi Interview

One of the more recent films to not do that well in the past year was Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), directed by Taika Waititi.

thor love and thunder laid back silly goofy thor chris hemsworth taika waititi

Credit: Marvel Studios

Taika Waititi, himself has mixed reviews in the MCU. He first directed Thor: Ragnorak (2017), which many fans loved as it departed from previous Thor movies’ dark and dreary mood and brought a comedic nature to the character and franchise. But his latest installment has been panned by critics and audiences.

Taika Waititi Rita Ora

Credit: Rita Ora Instagram

On Titan’s upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder, The Official Movie Special book, Taika Waititi talks about Thor’s MCU future and what we can expect as fans.

RELATED: Chris Hemsworth: ‘Thor’ Was ‘Too Silly’ And How His Hollywood Heroes ‘Depressed’ Him

“What is left to do to him? It’s got to be something that feels like it’s carrying on with the evolution of the character, but still in a very fun way and still giving him things to come up against that feel like they’re building on the obstacles that he has to overcome,” Taika Waititi said. “I don’t think we can have a villain weaker than Hela. I feel like we need to step up from there and add a villain that’s somehow more formidable.”

Thor Love and Thunder

Credit: Marvel

The director is referring to the character played by Cate Blanchett, the Asgardian goddess of death who destroys Thor’s hammer Mjölnir and takes over Asgard in Thor: Ragnorak (2017)

RELATED: Buckle Up, MCU Fans: A Google Mistake May Have Provided a Huge ‘Deadpool 3’ Spoiler

He also said he would like to introduce “more and more outlandish and crazy beasts, monsters and aliens.”

thor god of thunder marvel studios serious superhero chris hemsworth armor

Credit: Marvel Studios

Chris Hemsworth Comments

When asked about returning as Thor, Chris Hemsworth told Entertainment Weekly, “I don’t want to continue to do it until people are so exhausted that they roll their eyes when they see me come on the screen as that character. If an audience wants to see it, and if there’s something that we believe is exciting and fun, then great. I’ve loved being able to reinvent that character a few times. I don’t have the answer yet, but I would love to try and [figure out] how we can do that again and keep it a little unpredictable.”

RELATED: The End of an Era: Disney CEO Bob Iger Calls for Reductions on ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel Releases

However, a Thor 5 movie is not currently in production or even being discussed – especially during the current SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in Hollywood. But still, it’s always fun to think about what new films Marvel Studios (or Disney) could have up their sleeves and plan to roll out in the future.

 

About Steven Wilk

Steven has a complicated relationship with Disney. As a child, he visited Walt Disney World every few years with his family. But he never understood why kids his age (and older) were so scared of Snow White or Alien Encounter. He is a former participant of the Disney College Program (left early…long story), and he also previously worked in Children’s publishing, where he adapted multiple Disney movies and TV shows. He has many controversial opinions about Disney…like having a positive view of Michael Eisner, believing Return of the Jedi is superior to The Empire Strikes Back, and that Toy Story Land and Galaxy’s Edge should have never been built (at least not at Hollywood Studios). Every year for the past two decades, Steven has visited either Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani or went on a Disney Cruise. He’s happy to share any and all knowledge of the Disney destinations (and he likes using parenthesis a lot…as well as ellipses…)