Marvel’s “Infinity Saga” films–spanning 11 years and 23 movies–has had its ebbs and flows. There were good movies, bad movies, and a couple stinkers. But I don’t think many would disagree that no franchise had a bigger surge within the MCU than Thor. The first Thor is fine, most people don’t like the second one; suddenly Thor: Ragnarok made Thor the top-tier character he always should have been. A large part of that is down to the tone and direction from Taika Waititi. You can argue Waititi saved Thor. Now, The Hollywood Reporter has learned Waititi will return for Thor 4!
First, this is big news because we didn’t even know there would be a Thor 4. We assumed we weren’t done with Chris Hemsworth as the Asgardian adventurer, especially not after his amazing arc beginning in Ragnarok and ending in Avengers: Endgame. This doesn’t necessarily preclude his involvement in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, but it may. We know that movie has to wait until James Gunn finishes The Suicide Squad for DC. But, it’s not very likely Thor 4 would come out before that any way.
The other big piece of this news is that THR also learned Waititi’s Akira movie is now on pause. Akira had an initial release date of May 21, 2021, and Waititi had already begun testing actors around the world. But script concerns have pushed the start date, and Warner Bros. has concerns about finishing the movie in time. So it’s on the backburner for now, though the WB is still keen to keep Waititi as director following his work on Thor 4. Akira, the long gestating live-action manga/anime adaptation, is often called “unfilmable” for its scope and tone.
We talked to the director in 2017 about Akira and other things. Watch that interview below!
Even with the unfortunate delay of Akira, we’re beyond excited for Waititi to take another crack at Thor. Ragnarok was easily one of the best films in the MCU and its comedic sensibilities were perfect for a the cosmic weirdness and inherent pomposity of the character. Plus if this means we get more Korg, then we’re defo on board.
Images: Paramount/Marvel
Kyle Anderson is the Editor at Large for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
