Following the dismal response to Love and Thunder, it’s not untrue to say that Marvel Cinematic Universe supporters would rather not endure another Taika Waititi-directed Thor blockbuster, even if Ragnarok remains one of the franchise’s very best efforts.
In a rare case of Kevin Feige affording a filmmaker a little too much leeway, the fourth solo outing for Chris Hemsworth’s Odinson overdid the zany comedy and random asides, leading to a hurried and poorly-paced blockbuster that resolutely failed to live up to expectations.
While hindsight is always 20/20, the Academy Award-winning Waititi has nonetheless proved his worth and talent many times over, but it’s still time for a change if Thor 5 ever happens. One potential candidate waiting in the wings is Elizabeth Banks, who admitted to Rolling Stone she’d still be open to helming a comic book adaptation, at the same time she debunked those reports she’d made a pitch to Marvel Studios to take on the project that ultimately became Ragnarok.
“Let me dispel that a little bit. In terms of characters that I love in Marvel, that’s the character that I would have loved to take on. I never had a pitch or a meeting about Thor. And, yeah, if it was the right character and a great idea, I would love to direct a superhero movie. My door’s really open to anything.”
On the other side of the coin, Banks’ Charlie’s Angels reboot was a massive dud and Cocaine Bear failed to live up to its pre-release hype despite doing a decent turn at the box office, so it’s up for debate as to whether or not she’ll ever get her shot at the MCU, or any superhero property for that matter.