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Taika Waititi on Thor: Love and Thunder: 'If you wrote down all the elements of this film, it shouldn’t make sense'
When Taika Waititi tells you that next year's Thor: Love and Thunder might just be "the craziest film I've ever made," you have to sit down and ponder what kind of cosmic insanity the writer-director has in store for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Will those space sharks be the tamest part of the story?
"If you wrote down all the elements of this film, it shouldn’t make sense," the Kiwi filmmaker told Empire for the magazine's August 2021 issue (now on sale). "It’s almost like it shouldn’t be made. If you walked into a room and said, ‘I want this and this.’ Who’s in it? These people? What are going to call it? Love and Thunder. I mean, you’d never work again. Maybe I won’t after this."
Somehow, we doubt that. At the moment, Waititi has an incredibly full slate of upcoming films and TV shows like Our Flag Means Death for HBO, two Willy Wonka-inspired series at Netflix, and an untitled Star Wars movie for Lucasfilm. We don't think he'll be wanting for Hollywood work anytime soon.
Nevertheless, it's good to know the laugh-savvy director isn't opposed to the idea of returning to the blockbuster Marvel franchise that made him one of the industry's hottest directors.
Aside from the fact that Love and Thunder features Chris Hemsworth as the titular God of Thunder, the fourth entry in the character's onscreen saga will go higher, further, and faster (with regards to Carol Danvers) than its already-gonzo predecessor. Now that he's no longer an untested box office quantity, Waititi can really let his freak flag fly without any limitations.
“It’s very different from Ragnarok," he continued during his conversation with Empire. "It’s crazier. I’ll tell you what’s different. There’ll be far more emotion in this film. And a lot more love. And a lot more thunder. And a lot more Thor, if you’ve seen the photos.”
Nothing is known about the plot at this time, but it has been confirmed that the movie will feature characters like Jane Foster's Mighty Thor (Natalie Portman), Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), Zeus (Russell Crowe), and Ragnarok's theater Loki (Matt Damon).
"We've got five Oscar-winners in it. And I'm including myself in that list," said Waititi, who took home an Academy Award in 2020 for his adapted Jojo Rabbit screenplay. As for the rest of the cast — which also includes Chris Pratt (Star-Lord) and Jaimie Alexander (Lady Sif) — the director joked that "it's their own fault" if they haven't won Oscars by now.
Written by Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Thor: Love and Thunder brings the full-on weirdness to theaters May 6, 2022. Production on the movie wrapped in early June.
