Taika Waititi isn’t done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet. The creative force behind fan-favorite Thor: Ragnarok will return to write and direct Thor 4.
The news earned plenty of excited reactions from fans online, but it came with one caveat: The live-action Akira adaptation he was working on has been shelved indefinitely by Warner Bros.
Plot details are still scarce, but the record-breaking Avengers: Endgame ended with a noticeably chunkier Thor shooting off into space with the Guardians of the Galaxy. This led many to speculate that Chris Hemsworth’s character would only co-star in the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 currently in the works, rather than getting his own standalone sequel.
Waititi’s previous MCU title, 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, earned $854 million in global sales and was praised for breathing life into a hero that, until then, had only a lukewarm history on screen. The movie also introduced Valkyrie, an Asgardian warrior played by Tessa Thompson and the MCU’s first canonically queer character (according to a deleted scene, at least), who’s likely to make a return in Thor 4.
For Thor stans, the news was like an answer to their prayers as many believe that Waititi is the best thing to happen to the Thor franchise since the MCU’s onset.
“Thor stans stay winning this is going to be a masterpiece,” one Twitter user wrote.
Taika Waititi, Chris Hemsworth, and Tessa Thompson on set for Thor 4 after the tragedy of Endgame pic.twitter.com/7PHOgbCKs7
— Aniq (@aniqrahman) July 16, 2019
If Thor 4 isn’t called ‘Thor Part Thor’ or ‘Thour’, I will be so sad.
— Jacob Anderson (@jacobanderson) July 16, 2019
HOWEVER, Taika Waititi coming back is 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 pic.twitter.com/5c9yAXUG9T
The entire MCU fandom when they heard Taika Waititi is returning for Thor 4: pic.twitter.com/3Qq16odzZ5
— Michael Patterson (@michaelp93) July 16, 2019
“Taika Waititi will direct and write Thor 4.”
— ⎊ ѕρσσку sᴛᴇᴘʜ ➐ (@ghoulgirl0666) July 16, 2019
MCU twitter:
https://t.co/e17bdlFIS6
https://twitter.com/flkrofhemsworth/status/1151209100576874496
https://twitter.com/wintrweb/status/1151193139039936512
https://twitter.com/reedushiddles/status/1151206348950036480
Unfortunately, the news corresponds with the announcement that Waititi’s previous project, adapting the classic Japanese animated film Akira into a live-action remake, is on hold for the foreseeable future. The project has been in development since at least 2012 under various creative leads and was previously scheduled to hit theatres in 2021.
Waititi is hopefully coming back to inject some much-needed levity after the doom and gloom of MCU’s whole “disintegrating half of the universe” business.
READ MORE:
- The best order to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- Your complete guide to the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ is a disco inferno of pure charisma
- The recurring fat joke in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ sucks
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H/T IndieWire
