Good news everyone! Extremely good news! Taika Waititi is returning to the MCU to direct Thor 4. Chris Hemsworth is also expected to reprise his role as the God of Thunder. This is obviously a very exciting development for the MCU, as Waititi’s 2017 Thor: Ragnarok was a smash hit that completely revitalized the character of Thor and gave us one of the MCU’s strongest entries.
Thor will be the first Avenger to get a fourth solo film, but he will likely be joined by other Marvel mainstays. I would be willing to bet that Thor 4 will see the return of Valkyrie, Korg, Miek, and possibly the Hulk. When we last saw Thor he was joining the Guardians of the Galaxy on a new interstellar adventure, so there’s a likely chance that Star Lord and crew will make an appearance.
The big question is whether or not Loki will resurface in the next chapter. While the Trickster God died in Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame saw him escape New York with the Tesseract, meaning that there’s a living Loki somewhere out there in the timeline. Loki’s involvement also depends on Tom Hiddleston’s schedule and commitment to Disney+’s Loki series.
Waititi’s colorful take on the Avenger and Hemsworth’s strong comedy chops forged a whole new chapter for the Asgardian, one that continued through Avengers: Endgame with a washed-up, Big Lebowski-esque Thor. While “Thicc Thor” received criticism due to the character’s body shaming, many fans saw his new figure as welcome representation for different body types in superhero films.
I thought it was a smart, unique choice to show a defeated Thor, one that gives the character shading and pathos. Thor’s journey throughout Endgame is one of realizing that he didn’t doom the universe, and that he is worthy of his former glory. It will be interesting to see if Waititi keeps Thor thick or has him go through a makeover.
Since Ragnarok, Waititi has been in high demand, and with good reason. It was announced in April that the director would helm a live-action adaptation of the iconic manga series Akira for Warner Bros., but in light of the Thor announcement, Akira has been put on the back burner. It looks like Warner will wait for Waititi to wrap Thor 4 before moving ahead with Akira, which is still undergoing rewrites.
In the meantime, details of Thor 4 will likely be revealed at Marvel’s panel at San Diego Comic Con and/or at the upcoming D23 in August. We’re very excited to see Hemsworth and Waititi reunite, with Thor 4 now becoming our most anticipated Phase Four Marvel movie.
(via The Hollywood Reporter, image: Marvel)
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