Taika Waititi is going to direct and write for an upcoming Star Wars project. Why? Is his resume that good? His resume is a bit anemic in my opinion, and Waititi is known more for independent type movies than your big blockbusters. ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ was his first “blockbuster” type movie, and it wasn’t even that good. It felt like Waititi was trying to mimic James Gunn’s style of writing and directing. Well, we have a James Gunn, and we have the Guardians of the Galaxy for comic relief. ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’, according to Waititi, is about Thor having a mid life crisis. Were the fans asking for a Thor that was trying to find himself again, and having a mid life crisis? Boring. ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ might do well at the box office, simply because of Chris Hemsworth’s appeal. But if it doesn’t, and I don’t think it’s going to do nearly as well as its predessecor did worldwide, it will be because Marvel and Disney have allowed Taika Waititi to systematically destroy what makes Thor, well… Thor. Having Waititi direct and write a Star Wars film will be no different, and the fans will be subjected to Waititi’s brand of shallow vision when it comes to our favorite franchises.
Taika Waititi Made a Thor Movie for Himself and Not the Fans
Taika Waititi is like that artist that sees everything through a different lens than everyone else. That’s what an artist does with everything they create. But that’s the problem with Waititi and having him helm a popular franchise. He has his own singular, separate vision of what a particular character should look like, and his vision of Thor is a perfect example. It’s selfish, and it has no regard for established lore, other than to use it as window dressing to say he actually grabbed some story plots from the comic books. Now granted, that might not be Waititi’s fault entirely, as Kevin Feige and Marvel have been molding and transforming established characters into the “world outside their window” for the past year and a half. Waititi might just be towing the company line, or it could be he just has a lack of respect for who the Thor character really is. I mean after all, Kevin Feige and Waititi think the Mighty Thor is actually Jane Foster. Thor was actually the Mighty Thor long before Jane Foster claimed that title and failed in the comic books. So why is Disney going to give Waititi a chance on Star Wars? What if ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ fails at the box office? I guess if it does, just like everything else at Disney lately, you fail upwards, and Waititi getting a Star Wars movie, would be his reward.
Related: Wake Up Call?
Waititi Doesn’t Deserve a Star Wars Movie
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ did well globally, bringing in $850,482,778 at the box office. But domestically it was kind of average, and ranks 28th domestically among superhero movies, with $315,058,289 at the box office. If there wasn’t an Infinity War tie in, I don’t think Ragnarok would have done as well. Point being, Taika Waititi, took inspirations from a multitude of comic book storylines, and perverted them into what we saw in Ragnarok. Comic book storylines, that in and of themselves, were pretty good, with Planet Hulk being the best among them, and would have been great to actually see in its entirety on screen. Would Taika Waititi do the same to characters and stories in the Star Wars universe? More than likely, I mean he didn’t even know Natalie Portman was in a Star Wars trilogy when he asked her to be in his Star Wars movie. How’s that for respect and knowledge of a franchise? But, if ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ fails, and I’m guessing it might do worse than Ragnarok, especially since Waititi has taken Thor, and diminished him into an imbecile in is own movie(If you read any reviews, it’s not going well for Love and Thunder), will we see a Waititi Star Wars film? I hope not. I just don’t think Taika Waititi is as great a director that the mainstream media is painting him to be, and I think handing over a Star Wars movie to someone who treats our favorite characters and franchises like a joke, is someone unworthy of that responsibility.
