RUMOR: Thor 5 in Development Without Taika Waititi?

Movies

The God of Thunder is still worthy if a new rumor is to be believed. According to well-respected scooper Daniel Richtman, Marvel is developing Thor 5, which aligns with a previous rumor from two months ago courtesy of MyTimeToShineHello. However, Richtman says Taika Waititi is out, and Marvel is looking for a new director. The earlier rumor was apparently denied by critics; ComicBookMovie.com suggests this may be because the writers’ strike stalled the process, but now that it’s over, things are ramping up again. There’s no time frame on this yet; presumably, Thor 5 will happen after Avengers: Secret Wars, but since that and The Kang Dynasty have been delayed and will probably be changed from their original conception, it’s possible Thor 5 will be fast-tracked and made first.

Thor 5 is officially in development at Marvel Studios!

Marvel is currently searching for a new director to helm the film, meaning Taika Waititi will not return.

(via @DanielRPK) pic.twitter.com/5myalj7v1I

— Thor Updates (@ThorUpdate) October 26, 2023

If this is true, I’m pleased as punch to hear Waititi is out. I didn’t like either of his Thor movies, and I’d like Thor to be taken semi-seriously again. The tone of the first two films would be great; they have a decent amount of humor, but it’s balanced with drama and character development. This appears to be a reaction to the general dislike of Thor: Love and Thunder, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Loki returns in Thor 5, hopefully in a more interesting guise than his Disney+ incarnation. Thanks to Love and Thunder, Thor will be saddled with Gorr’s daughter, whom he adopted at the end; it would be nice if they wrote her out (much like Waititi did to Loki’s conquest of Asgard from The Dark World and Thor’s investigation of the Infinity Gems from Age of Ultron because turnabout is fair play), but I don’t think they will. It’ll be interesting to see what comic book storyline is adapted; considering the MCU’s usual approach, I imagine it’ll be something written in the last decade. But I don’t want to be too negative; giving Waititi his gold watch is a massive step in the right direction. I hope this pans out; I want to like the MCU again, and I’d love another great Thor movie.