The Marvel Cinematic Universe, and especially Thor, would be a lot different had Patty Jenkins directed Thor: The Dark World – but why did she leave the project? The MCU had its leaders in Iron Man and Captain America, but other Avengers won the hearts of fans with their appearances, especially Thor. The God of Thunder was introduced to this connected universe in 2011 with his first solo film, and went on to appear in six more films, not counting his cameo appearance in the mid-credits scene of Doctor Strange.
Thor’s popularity has grown in the last years, in big part thanks to Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok, which marked a much needed fresh start for the character. This film gave him a personality, sense of humor, and seized Chris Hemsworth's comedic abilities, making it the best Thor film in the MCU. Conversely, Thor: The Dark World is considered the worst (and one of the weakest links in the MCU), as the story and the characters were pretty bland. Thor 2 is a good example of Marvel’s infamous villain problem, and characters that were interesting in the first film were boring and had an irrelevant storyline.
But Thor 2 could have been saved had things gone as originally planned. Director Alan Taylor wasn’t Marvel’s first choice, and before him, Patty Jenkins was going to direct the film, but dropped out two months after her involvement was confirmed. So, what happened?
Why Patty Jenkins Left Thor: The Dark World
Patty Jenkins initially said she left due to “creative differences” but didn’t share any details until much later. Jenkins’ idea for Thor’s second solo film was based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and would have seen Jane stuck on Earth and Thor in Asgard, with him not being allowed to go back to Earth and save Jane (because “Earth doesn’t matter”). Thor would have obviously found a way to reunite with Jane, and once on Earth, they would have discovered that Malekith was hiding the dark energy inside of Earth. Marvel, on the other hand, had a very different idea.
What happened truly was a case of “creative differences”, as Jenkins felt she “wasn’t the right director” for what Marvel wanted to do with Thor 2. Jenkins later shared that she couldn’t do something she didn’t believe in and in that big of a scale, and as she was representing women directors everywhere, if Thor 2 didn’t do well, it was going to have a negative impact on all of them. In the end, Jenkins made a wise decision in leaving Thor: The Dark World, not only because she would have been forced to do something she wasn’t really comfortable with, but because she probably wouldn’t have been in the running to direct Wonder Woman – and the MCU wouldn’t have this current version of Thor.