Beneath all the fluorescent visuals and awe-inspiring spectacle, Thor: Ragnarok will forever be remembered as a bold and often hilarious reinvention of Marvel’s Norse god.
That’s not to say that the previous Thor movies were necessarily bad; rather, the God of Thunder had never really gotten the adaptation he deserves. Enter Taika Waititi.
Following creative efforts in the vein of Hunt For the Wilderpeople and What We Do in the Shadows, the New Zealand filmmaker brought an infectious energy to the God of Thunder that the previous adaptations were sorely lacking, resulting in one of the best and most entertaining movies of 2017. So, now comes the big question: what’s next?
Waititi has already expressed an interest in one day returning to the MCU, possibly taking control of the newly-unveiled Black Widow solo movie. But his heart lies with Thor, as Chris Hemsworth recently told USA Today that both he and the director kicked around some rough ideas for a fourth movie over the festive period.
Said he:
We gave cheers to Thor 3. But it also was like what could we do with four? We could do this and this. We were throwing ideas around. But also, just to work together again. That was one of the most enjoyable creative partnerships I’ve ever had.
There’s also the small matter of Chris Hemsworth’s Marvel contract, which is fast approaching its end. Chances are the towering Aussie will extend his MCU tenure far beyond 2019, but when it comes to Taika Waititi’s half-baked ideas for Thor 4, they’re seemingly contingent on the outcome of Avengers 4:
It just depends on how The Avengers (movies) all wrap up. I finished shooting and now they are going to edit it and see how the stories play out. There are so many interwoven scenes and stories and characters. [Thor 4] is a conversation for further down the road, if it happens.
Next on Chris Hemsworth’s calling card is the launch of Avengers: Infinity War on May 4th of this year. As the actor revealed to USA Today, he’s now completed his work on the untitled sequel – ditto for Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen and Karen Gillan – which is due to bring an end to the current iteration of the MCU in 2019.