Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi had to make a lot of changes to the film so it fit the MCU's larger Phase 4 plan. Picking up after Avengers: Endgame, the film finds the God of Thunder going through a midlife crisis, as he searches for new purpose. His journey to find inner peace is disrupted by the arrival of Gorr the God Butcher, who's embarking on a mission to kill all gods. Before he can put his superhero days behind him, Thor assembles another team of allies (including ex-girlfriend Jane Foster, who's now the Mighty Thor) to try to defeat Gorr.
Eschewing the multiverse thread that's been prevalent in Phase 4, Thor: Love and Thunder largely operates as a self-contained narrative in its own corner of the franchise. However, it's still part of the larger shared universe, meaning it needs to align with what Marvel has in mind as it progresses through Phase 4. This means creatives need to be willing to amend certain aspects of their projects so everything fits together in the end. As it turns out, Waititi had to go through many iterations of Love and Thunder.
In an interview with IndieWire, Waititi was asked about his understanding of the various MCU storylines that are ongoing in the movies and TV shows. The director admitted he doesn't keep up with all of them, and instead relies on Marvel to tell him what changes he needs to make. Check out his comments in the space below:
I don’t do any research into all of the threads and storylines of Marvel because there’s too many and I don’t know half the characters. I don’t want to read any of the comics. I just want to do my film, just put the things in, then have them say, “You can’t do that, because that messes with this whole storyline.” There are so many iterations of this film. I would want to take a character and put it in the film, or kill off a character, but it affects all these different things I have no idea about.
It may be initially shocking to some viewers one of Marvel's most prominent directors isn't aware of everything going on in the franchise, but the revelation isn't entirely surprising. Waititi is one of the busiest and hardest working people in the industry, with a multitude of projects in various stages of development, including Our Flag Means Death season 2 and a new Star Wars movie. With everything on his plate, Waititi may simply not have the time to watch every MCU installment that comes out. Luckily for him, Kevin Feige and the rest of Marvel brass are there to keep tabs on things so the Thor movies don't break MCU canon in any major way. In the past, James Gunn discussed the pressure of maintaining continuity, something Marvel is very well aware of.
It would appear whatever changes Waititi had to make did not strain his relationship with Marvel, and he was still able to craft a big-budget blockbuster that features his unique sensibilities (much like Thor: Ragnarok). If anything, this anecdote illustrates a healthy partnership between director and studio, underscoring the collaborative nature of their dynamic. Waititi understands the MCU consists of more than just his Thor films, so he's open to adjusting his scripts if that's what's needed. As the bigger picture for Phase 4 and beyond comes into greater focus, it will be interesting to see how Thor: Love and Thunder contributes to the story.
Source: IndieWire
