Alan Taylor, director of Marvel's Thor: The Dark World, recalls his original version of the 2013 sequel. Before Taika Waititi brought colorful comedy to the world of Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth) with Thor: Ragnarok, Marvel brought in TV vet Taylor to helm the second movie in the franchise. There was a great deal of anticipation surrounding Thor: The Dark World, as it arrived not long after The Avengers took the world by storm. Hemsworth returned as the titular God of Thunder in a story that saw him fighting to save the world as well as his love Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who came into contact with an Infinity Stone to disastrous effect.

As is well-documented by now, Thor: The Dark World wasn't the triumphant sequel Marvel had hoped. Though it was a box office success, the overly serious tone and lackluster villain (Christopher Eccleston's Malekith) all contributed to making the film one of the weakest in the entire MCU. The franchise would work to course-correct with Thor: Ragnarok four years later, and considering how Waititi returned to direct Thor: Love and Thunder (out next May), it's safe to say Marvel is pleased with the changes.

Related: Thor: The Dark World - What Went Wrong With The MCU Sequel

In a new THR profile, Taylor looked back on his experience with Thor: The Dark World. He's spoken before about how the movie was effectively taken from him in post-production, and his latest comments back that up. Taylor shared new details about how he originally envisioned The Dark World, explaining how there was a "slightly more magical quality." However, that ended up changing. Taylor said:

“The version I had started off with had more childlike wonder; there was this imagery of children, which started the whole thing. There was a slightly more magical quality. There was weird stuff going on back on Earth because of the convergence that allowed for some of these magical realism things. And there were major plot differences that were inverted in the cutting room and with additional photography — people [such as Loki] who had died were not dead, people who had broken up were back together again. I think I would like my version.”

Thor holding Mjolnir in battle

One of the biggest changes to Thor: The Dark World, as Taylor alluded to, was the fate of Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Marvel planned to kill him off for good in the movie, but Loki's renewed popularity following The Avengers led to his continued survival. It also sounds like Taylor intended to keep Thor and Jane split up by the end of the film; in the finished cut of The Dark World, Thor returns to Jane for an end-credits scene kiss. However, they're broken up by the time Ragnarok begins.

Even before Taylor boarded Thor: The Dark World, Marvel was having some difficulties with the film. Originally, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins was attached. As she recalled last year, she ended up leaving the project because she didn't feel she could make a good movie out of the provided script, and she didn't want to be blamed for its failure. That instead fell to Taylor, though based on his recounting of the experience, it's unfair to believe he was entirely at fault for Thor: The Dark World's issues. It was an unfortunate combination of clashing visions and post-production meddling; at least both Taylor and the MCU have since moved on.

More: Thor: The Dark World Originally Had A Much Better Ending

Source: THR

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