Taika Waititi Won't Direct Thor 5: 'We Are In Open Relationship'

New Zealand filmmaker and actor Taika Waititi said that he considers his relationship with Marvel to be ‘open.’ Persistent rumours have circulated regarding Waititi potentially not directing the next Thor movie, following the lukewarm reception of the 2022 film Thor: Love and Thunder, which, despite grossing $760 million worldwide, did not resonate well with fans and critics.

This was in stark contrast to Waititi’s 2017 film Thor: Ragnarok, which became the highest-grossing release in the Thor franchise. Ragnarok was praised for its unique humour and compelling storyline, elements that some felt were lacking in its 2022 sequel.

During a press interaction for his upcoming film Next Goal Wins, Waititi told Business Insider that he is unsure about the directorship of the next Thor films, stating, “I know that I won’t be involved.” He explained that he has committed to several projects that will occupy his schedule in the coming years.

The Oscar-winning director elaborated that he working on a screenplay of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s graphic novel The Incal and the highly anticipated Star Wars movie. Additionally, he is also going to make Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian science fiction novel Klara and the Sun into a movie. Waititi explained all these projects would easily take six to seven years and predicted that the Thor films would come out “a lot sooner than that”.

When asked about his relationship with Marvel, he added, “I love Marvel, I love working with them. I love Chris,” as he referred to actor Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor. Waititi added, “I would never feel like they (Marvel) are cheating on me. We’re in an open relationship, and it’s like if they want to see other people, I’m happy for that. I’d still get back into bed with them one day.”

Now snippets from this interview are creating much buzz amongst Marvel and Thor lovers. On Monday, Entertainment Weekly shared an Instagram post about Taika Waititi not being a part of upcoming Thor films.

A post shared by Entertainment Weekly (@entertainmentweekly)

Commenting on it, a Thor fan wrote, “Ragnarok was fantastic, but love and thunder, even though it tried to put a cheerful spin onto very awful topics, got carried away with way too much goofy tongue and cheek stuff.”

Expressing a similar opinion another person remarked, “He didn’t even care about the last one. He was completely checked out and just fooled around the whole production. When he actually cares about his work, he produces excellent work. I think he was in a weird place when he was making Love & Thunder. I hope his project is something he cares about.”