Jojo Rabbit Is Good News For Thor 4

Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Jojo Rabbit

Taika Waititi's film, Jojo Rabbit is good news for the writer/director's latest endeavor with Marvel Studios, Thor: Love and Thunder. Based on the latest Thor 4 footage, the movie will be filled with love, positivity, and lighthearted humor — meaning everything is about to change for the God of Thunder. Scenes from the upcoming picture feature Thor and his new goat companions, a fitting Waititi addition, and pieces from the central plot. Taika Waititi's Thor is trying to find himself after the storm, declaring that he once used his hands for battle and is now using them to spread peace. The superhero might get a chance to live a peaceful life – for a few scenes, anyway.

Waititi joined the Marvel fold with Thor: Ragnarok, the third film in the Thor franchise, and one that many credit with reigniting enthusiasm for the character. Ragnarok was Waititi's first major studio film, with his previous works being decidedly smaller, independent flicks. Still, handing over an integral Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise to an indie director proved very successful, as Ragnarok easily out-earned both Thor and Thor: The Dark World to become the highest-grossing film of 2017. Based on Waititi's Thor success, Thor 4 should be a fun and wild ride.

For Thor: Love and Thunder, Waititi returns to direct the film and write the script. Chris Hemsworth is back again as Thor, and Tessa Thompson is reprising her role as Valkyrie. Natalie Portman is also returning as Jane Foster for her first MCU film since The Dark World. However, this version of Jane is quite different from the one she previously played, now also wielding the powers of Thor and is inspired by a recent comic arc that also sees Jane battling breast cancer. Thor 4 is expected to be bigger and even crazier than Ragnarok, but the reintroduction of Jane suggests it will also be a more emotionally fraught movie. Luckily, pairing humor with heartache is what Waititi does best – something his film, Jojo Rabbit, again demonstrates.

Thor 4 Could Take Some Tips From Jojo Rabbit

Jojo and his imaginary friend Hilter in the movie Jojo Rabbit

Taika Waititi's Thor 4 can learn a lot from Jojo Rabbit by using the backdrop of chaos and gloom against free-spirited silliness to create a powerful dichotomy, more reminiscent of his personal style than Ragnarok. Jojo Rabbit is a brilliant balancing act of comedy and drama. In it, Waititi manages to pair the moving, coming-of-age story of a young boy overcoming his Nazi-instilled prejudices with the absurd scenario of him also having Adolf Hitler as an imaginary friend. It shouldn't work as well as it does, but Jojo Rabbit is an uplifting movie that is hilarious and heartbreaking. Additionally, Jojo Rabbit had Waititi working on a slightly larger scale than any of his previous non-Marvel movies, indicating that he can easily balance a film's emotion with its action. All of this is good news for Thor: Love and Thunder. It suggests that by giving Waititi greater creative control over the story, he can deliver an even richer and more rewarding installment than Thor: Ragnarok.

Why Thor 4 Will Be A Better Taika Waititi Movie Than Ragnarok

Thor and Korg look upward at a ship leaving the atmosphere

Taika Waititi's Thor 4 is set to be a thrill ride based on the latest footage of the film, and it might be his most "Taika Waititi" movie yet. As the god tries to find himself after traversing the galaxy with the Guardians, he will be forced to decide who he really is as a hero, and Waititi is sure to make it a fun journey. People are reintroduced to Fat Thor, as he works out with battle chains in the forest. The scenes also reveal a "New Asgard" to be explored, as Thor races through the realms on his chariot pulled by huge magical goats. Finally, Jane's new superhero identity and costume, are shown. Long story short, the Waititi's Thor is a refreshing outing that will both expand on and diverge from previous installments, bringing much-needed humor to the table while, hopefully, injecting some of the director's trademark pathos.

Thor: Ragnarok is an excellent movie, one of the best within the MCU, but as a Taika Waititi movie, it falls short. Though the film certainly includes much of Waititi's zany humor (mostly thanks to improvising with Hemsworth and his own performance as Korg), Waititi didn't write the script for Ragnarok. Therefore, it lacks the pathos present in Jojo Rabbit and his previous work. Of course, there are emotional moments within Ragnarok, particularly between Hemsworth's Thor and Tom Hiddleston's Loki. Still, these scenes would carry more weight if the director had a hand in developing them. With Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi has that opportunity, and he's clearly exploring Thor's emotional state, going by the latest Thor 4 clips.

The decision to reintroduce Jane, for instance, suggests that Thor: Love and Thunder will explore not just the fallout of Thor and Jane's relationship, but what they mean to each other now. Having Jane also become The Mighty Thor will challenge Thor's identity — something he's already been grappling with in his arc across Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Add to that the chance Waititi does include Jane's cancer diagnosis, and Love and Thunder has all the ingredients of being a film that will leave Thor (and audiences) an emotional wreck. This isn't to suggest that Thor 4 will be a sappy, overly serious melodrama. Rather, there will be a better balance between the more emotional moments, the outrageous comedy, and over-the-top action.

Jojo Rabbit is only the latest example of Taika Waititi striking that balance. With Thor: Love and Thunder, Waititi is sure to find a way to fully incorporate his style of happy/sad filmmaking into the MCU. As a result, he gives the Thor series the potential to become one of the strongest in the franchise.

Next: Thor 4: What Taika Waititi Needs To Do Differently To Ragnarok