Taika Waititi has become a masterstroke for Marvel Studios after the director reignited the spark in the Thor series that is part of the shared continuity of Marvel Cinematic Universe. The director took on the series with Thor: Ragnarok, which not only made Thor commercially successful but also revitalized the character’s presence and significance in the MCU. Owing to that success, Marvel once again brought back Waititi to direct Thor: Love and Thunder. However, nothing of that could have been possible because the Academy Award-winning director almost missed his first meeting with the Marvel executives.
As per Waititi, when he first got the call from Marvel, he was out in Hawaii celebrating his birthday. However, his friends mistakenly took his luggage to New Zealand. Since he isn’t an American citizen, he was not eligible to travel domestically between states. Recalling the incident in The Late Late Show, Waititi said:
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Moana Saved The Day for Waititi
Waititi apparently decided to head to the airport in hopes of negotiating clearance because it was, after all, Marvel Studios. Though his initial negotiations were almost failing, one surprising reveal convinced the customs officials to let him through. To convince them, Waititi showed them his contract with Disney for the film Moana, for which he was hired as a screenwriter.
The incident is funny and ironic because Waititi eventually left Moana and didn’t finish the draft and was subsequently replaced by Jared Bush.
Ever since then, Taika Waititi has been an integral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and has given several best-ranking films. Besides directing Thor: Ragnarok, the director has also portrayed the role of Korg in the franchise, which he will reprise again in the next Thor film. He has further directed promotional short films Team Thor 1 & 2 for Marvel. He has also worked on other Disney projects such as Free Guy and The Mandalorian. He has also received an Oscar for Jojo Rabbit in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.
The director is currently awaiting the release of Thor: Love and Thunder, which he claims to be his craziest film yet. It will release as the twenty-ninth MCU movie as part of its Phase Four slate of releases. It will hit theaters on July 8, 2022, and will star Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, Jeff Goldblum, and Russell Crowe, along with the entire member cast from the Guardians of the Galaxy films, thus setting up the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special that will air on Disney+.
