Taika Waititi Reveals He Joined Marvel as He Was Poor: “I’d just had a second child”
The Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi’s two Thor movies are arguably the best two contributions to the franchise. Although Thor is extremely popular among MCU fans, his standalone movies did not reach the popularity of the Iron Man movies or the Captain America movies. Taika Waititi gave Thor a complete makeover by injecting a healthy dose of laughter into the audience’s beloved God of Thunder, and the rest is history.
Taika Waititi truly established the Thor franchise from scratch with not only humor but also some of the most iconic actors playing villains, like Kate Blanchett and Christian Bale. The movies definitely hit classic status under Waititi’s masterful direction. However, recently, in an interview, he opened up by saying that his motive behind joining Marvel was purely financial, and he had no intention of doing these movies originally.
Taika Waititi reveals he joined Marvel for monetary gains: “I never read Thor comics as a kid”
It is almost impossible to believe that a franchise that has become so synonymous with Taika Waititi’s success as a director was nothing but a means of financial gain for him. In the recent episode of the SmartLess podcast, he opens up by saying:
“You know what? I had no interest in doing one of those films. It wasn’t on my plan for my career as an auteur. But I was poor and I’d just had a second child, and I thought, ‘You know what, this would be a great opportunity to feed these children.’”
Also Read: A Game of Lies: Ways Thor: Love and Thunder Trailer Lied To Us
He also went on to say that Thor was the least popular franchise when he was entering the MCU and that he never even read any Thor comics as a kid.
“I never read Thor comics as a kid. That was the comic I’d pick up and be like ‘Ugh.’ And then I did some research on it, and I read one Thor comic or 18 pages, or however long they are. I was still baffled by this character.”
When The Hollywood Handle broke the news on X (formerly Twitter), most fans did not take it kindly, with many branding him as a “loser” and calling it “truly upsetting.”
Please don’t come back, especially after Thor 4
— kami (@KamiAnimess) November 27, 2023
This just in: Taika Watiti is a loser!
— Travis Curnutte (@TravisCurnutte) November 27, 2023
Taika is a 🤡
— The Real One (@_PraiseTheXI_) November 27, 2023
Truly upsetting. I respect him needing to put food on the table but why say this? Disrespectful to the writers, artists and creators.
— The Daily Kryptonian (@TheDailyKrypto) November 27, 2023
MCU: Want to do it for the creative opportunity?
Taika: 🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑
— Shoot the Sh*t (@NLNShootTheShit) November 27, 2023
However, many also praised him for his honesty:
I can't hate him for that (never hated him in the first place)
— Shinigami•Silver* (@Nacht_Silver) November 27, 2023
Well no shit everyone does it for money
— CoolcashGG (@Galaxy853769437) November 27, 2023
I respect his honesty. Homie got his Disney checks.
— Aaronado (@_CRSCNDLLS_) November 27, 2023
Hey, say what you want about Love and Thunder, but Ragnarok is still a good movie. And I respect him for being honest about it.
— Key'Shawn Watkins #BLM (@KeyWatkins51299) November 27, 2023
Is this suppose to be a shocking reveal or something? Yeah, people work for money, directors too. 🤷♀️ Cool if they have a vision or idea or creative passion as well, but yeah, money is an important factor when taking a job.
— Waz Jadwiga (@wazjadwiga) November 27, 2023
While this might be upsetting for many fans that their favorite franchise was just a cash-grab opportunity for a director, Taika Waititi still gave the MCU one of the most iconic rebirths of a character that was dying out. Thor: Ragnarok went on to make a whopping $853 million, and Thor: Love and Thunder managed to collect $760 million worldwide.
Is Taika Waititi returning to the MCU to make more Thor movies?
According to a recent interview he gave to Business Insider, Taika Waititi might not return to make another Thor movie. He told the interviewer that:
“I know that I won’t be involved. I’m going to concentrate on these other films that I’ve signed on for … But I love Marvel, I love working with them. I love Chris.”
Taika Waititi has many projects going on at the same time. He is working on the silver screen adaptation of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s graphic novel The Incal and also developing the highly anticipated Star Wars movie. He will also be working on the critically acclaimed novel by Kazuo Ishiguro Klara and the Sun as his next movie.
He also notes that he has no ill feelings against Marvel and will not hold a grudge against them if they go ahead and hire a new writer-director.
“I would never feel like they 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.”
Alongside Taika Waititi, Chris Hemsworth is also dubious about continuing the role for too long. However, fans do not need to worry, as there is already a potential fifth Thor movie in talks with Marvel.
Also Read: Chris Hemsworth Avoided His Future as Thor, “Went Very Far” for His Alternate Career Choice
All the Thor movies are available to stream on Disney+.