Taika Waititi Will Direct Thor 4

Marvel Studios/PA

Taika Waititi is set to write and direct a follow film to his 2017  superhero comedy, Thor: Ragnarok.

According to The Hollywood Reporter Marvel Studios recently hammered out a deal with the Kiwi director which will see him return to direct a fourth Thor solo film.

It’s believed that Chris Hemsworth is also set to reprise his iconic role as the God of Thunder, Thor, but beyond that nothing else is known about the project although there’s some speculation we’ll find out more at San Diego Comic-Con.

There was speculation that Hemsworth was done with Thor after Endgame but he put those rumours to bed during an interview with Variety where he was non-committal on the character’s future, but suggested he wasn’t ready to put down his hammer just yet.

Hemsworth said:

I’d still love to do more, to be honest, and I don’t know what the plan is. I feel like we’ve opened up such a different character. I feel more energized for the possibility of where it could go. But I’ll use that in other places and other characters if it’s the end here.

Personally, I hope in the forth film he’s still rocking the beer belly from Endgame and hanging around with the Guardians of the Galaxy, but I somehow doubt that’ll happen but I can dream, I can dream.

Marvel Studios

Anyway, the news of Waititi’s return to the MCU is less than surprising, Thor: Ragnarok was the best received Thor film ever (sitting at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes) and it grossed $853 million at the worldwide box-office.

Earlier this year Thor: Ragnarok star Tessa Thompson claimed in an interview with the LA Times that Thor 4 was in the works and that Marvel wanted Taika to direct.

She said: 

I heard that a pitch has happened for [another Thor film]. I don’t know how real that intel is, but I hear that the pitch has happened. I think the idea is Taika [Waititi, who directed ‘Ragnarok’] would come back.

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The big wigs at Marvel are no doubt hoping Waititi and the Revengers team can capture that old Asgardian magic and replicate his original success with the character.

It’s not all good news though. Taika’s commitments to Thor 4, or Thor: Ragnarok 2 as I’ve decided it should be called, means that Warner Bros. long-awaited live-action adaptation of the popular anime Akira has been delayed.

THR report, that despite Taika already beginning testing, Akira is ‘on pause indefinitely’ because its production dates were too close to Thor 4’s for comfort. They claim that script concerns on Akira forced Warners to push back the project which led to the production date conflict.

Despite this is been reported that Warners wants to keep Waititi involved on Akira for the long term and hopes to see him start work on the film after he finishes Thor 4.

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Tom Percival

More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.

Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.

He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.