After a bit of speculation, Marvel Studios has made it official: Patty Jenkins has been confirmed to be the director of Thor 2, making her the first woman to direct a movie for the studio. Jenkins has a powerful body of work already, having directed the Aileen Wuornos docudrama Monster, which won Charlize Theron an Oscar. However, this will be the first big-budget outing for Jenkins, making this a big step for female directors.
Most recently, Jenkins was nominated for an Emmy for directing the pilot episode of AMC‘s The Killing and directed one of the five segments in Lifetime‘s breast cancer vignette, Five, which aired this past Monday. Her work ranges from suspenseful to mainstream to quirky — she’s also directed episodes of Entourage and Arrested Development. In a nutshell, this is a very well-rounded woman.
Jenkins fills the void left by Kenneth Branagh, who directed Thor earlier this year. While it was undeniably a box office success, it was considered to be a pretty mediocre film, and some were surprised to see it get a sequel. But stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, and Natalie Portman will all be returning, which is set to arrive in theaters November 13, 2013 (moved from its original July release date to make room for Disney‘s Lone Ranger).
(via The Hollywood Reporter)
