"Thor 5" Is Happening, With Taika Waititi Set To Direct
It wasn't too long ago when it seemed like Taika Waititi was on top of the world. He did "Thor: Ragnorak," which was far and away the most well-received film in the Thor trilogy. Some people think it's one of the best films of the MCU. I do not share that opinion, but it was a huge breath of fresh air following the disappointment that was "Thor: The Dark World." He then went on to do "Jojo Rabbit," which is absolutely one of my favorite movies. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
But over the last few years, his stock has dropped fast. I know some people like it, but I'm sorry, "Thor: Love And Thunder" was a disaster. In many ways, it was just a giant middle finger to any person who ever took the MCU seriously. I know many Marvel products have jokes, but "Love And Thunder" felt like a troll piece for the audience. I usually don't use this phrase, but the film felt mean-spirited weirdly. And it doesn't help that Taika Waititi acted like a complete douchebag on the press tour.
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From a visual standpoint, Taika's films always look great. Even "Love And Thunder," despite some bad CG, had some pretty imagery. The shadow realm sequence was really damn cool. So I have no issue with him directing another Thor movie. I just hope that he's not responsible for writing it. One of my favorite things about the Thor character (and the last two Avengers movies did a great job of tapping into this) is that he's been scarred by his trauma. I was looking forward to seeing how "Love And Thunder" would address that, but they didn't. They just made it one big joke.
Chris Hemsworth could probably play Thor for the rest of his life, but considering we've seen actual conclusions to Iron Man's story arc, as well as Captain America's, there's a certain semblance of sadness that I feel knowing that Thor is still just hanging around. His character deserves a proper sendoff. If "Thor 5" can be a little bit more self-aware and actually give us something of a proper conclusion to this character, I'll be a lot happier.
I've been very open about the fact that I do not believe that the MCU is trending in the right direction right now. They should've never gone to television, but that's the least of our concerns. The universe is something of a mess. They botched the Multiverse storyline, and Kang The Conqueror, who they've been building up to be the next Thanos, is played by an actor who is currently being sued.
I have no idea how that will end, but the MCU does find itself in a pretty delicate situation right now. I think the best course of action is to just focus on making good individual products right now. Forget connecting the universe. Go back to the way things were a decade ago. There was a time in Marvel did such a masterful job of putting all their ducks in a row. There's been such a helter-skelter element to their last several movies.
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I know this is wishful thinking, but I would love to see "Thor 5" be the "Logan" of Thor movies. There was a time when the "X-Men" movies got so ridiculously goofy. Has anyone ever seen "X-Men Origins: Wolverine?" That movie is practically a comedy.  At his best, Taika Waititi is a director who can put so much heart into his films. I would like to see that come out in "Thor 5." If they do that, it could be a beautiful sendoff for the character. If not, then we might just have another boring piece of MCU schlock.