Five Directors We Would Like To See Take Over “Thor 2”

Even though Thor made upwards of $400 million worldwide this past summer, it hasn’t been an easy road for Marvel to get Thor 2 off the ground. First it was announced that director Kenneth Branagh wouldn’t be returning to the series, then it was revealed that his replacement, Monster director Patty Jenkins, dropped off the project due to “creative differences.”

With a November 2013 release date looming, Marvel needs to grab up a new director quick and strike while the iron is hot on the Thor name. We’re not entirely sure what direction the studio wants to go in with this movie, but Hollywood is littered with creative geniuses that could truly bring Thor’s world to life.

Just for fun, we have decided to take a look at Five Directors We Would Like To See Take Over Thor 2. Who knows? Maybe Marvel will take a look at this list and decide one of our ideas fits their vision. We would be cool with that just as long as we get a nice cut of the profits. If not, we would gladly accept either a replica of Mjolnir or the armored halter-top that Jaimie Alexander wore as Lady Sif in the first movie—as long as it hasn't been washed.

Written by Jason Serafino (@Serafinoj1)

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We’re not entirely sure this could ever really happen due to Cuarón’s commitments to his upcoming sci-fi flick, Gravity, but he has a proven track record of bringing fantasy worlds to life with 2004's Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, and he’s the man behind one of the best films of the new millennium, 2006's Children Of Men. And given how much drama has occurred behind the scenes, perhaps it would be best to delay Thor 2 anyway, which would give Cuarón time to become available.

He brings a completely unique style and superb technical chops to every project that he touches, and he already has experience handling an ensemble cast. We would love to see what he can do with Tom Hiddleston as Loki and the world of Asgard itself. It’s obvious that Marvel Studios tends to clash with visionary directors, but if they are willing to sacrifice some toy sales for a genuinely good movie then Cuarón would be perfect.

Even though his first live-action movie, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, hasn’t even been released yet, Bird is the man responsible for perhaps one of the best superhero movies of all time, 2004's The Incredibles. His flare for inventive action scenes, combined with his ability to make audiences care about cartoon characters, would be an invaluable asset to Thor’s world. Also, as evidenced in The Incredibles, the man knows his superheroes.

With Marvel’s tendency to put out strictly family-friendly films, Bird would be the perfect choice because he’s an expert at making films that any age group can enjoy. That simplistic, yet highly effective, storytelling style that he displayed at Pixar would fit perfectly within the Marvel Universe, and it would be faithful to what Stan Lee and Walt Simonson accomplished with the Thor comics.

He’s only directed two feature-length movies so far, but Duncan Jones has quickly solidified himself as one of the most talented up-and-coming directors in Hollywood. Moon (2009) was one of the best sci-fi movies of the past 25 years, and it could be argued that 2011's Source Code was a more intelligent mind-bender overall than Inception. Not only that, but the dude came pretty close to directing Man of Steel, so you know that comic books are on his radar.

That being said, Jones is more than just trippy plots and sci-fi; he also has a firm grasp on characters on story. He can truly add some gravitas to the intimate family dynamic of the house of Odin, and would go a long way towards further blending the mythological take on Asgard with a bit of a science-fiction twist, much like Jack Kirby did early in the character’s life.

We’re not just putting Vaughn on this list because of his work on comic movies like Kick-Ass (2010) and X-Men: First Class (2011); instead, he’s here because he was the original choice to direct Thor before Kenneth Branagh. Vaughn’s vision of a Thor film would have been set almost completely on Asgard and would have had a scope similar to Lord Of The Rings or Star Wars. Unfortunately, this didn’t fit in with Marvel’s budget or its plans to tie everything in to next year's The Avengers, so Vaughn’s ideas never came to fruition.

This would be a great opportunity to bring in a director on short notice who already knows this universe and has a Thor movie in his head. This would cut down on a lot of pre-production work with a director that is new to the world. Also, Vaughn has proven to be one of the best directors at handling a large ensemble cast, which would come in handy because we’re hoping Thor 2 shows off more of Lady Sif, the Warrior’s Three, and maybe even Balder the Brave.

Now this was an easy one. Nicolas Winding Refn is currently one of the most daring directors in the film industry (and we’re talking worldwide) and his visceral style could bring a lot of punch to Thor 2, which the original was sorely lacking in. We could imagine a meaner and leaner Thor under the direction of Refn that would probably be more in line with what Matt Fraction did on the character in Ages Of Thunder. Plus, he has already openly campaigned to direct a Wonder Woman movie, so he obviously wants to take on a superhero movie with a mythological flavor.

Refn has also dabbled into the Norse world before in 2009's Valhalla Rising, so he's already familiar with this territory. The gloomy aesthetic that he could bring to the character would clash nicely with what has been done before, and that could lead to a much more somber, emotional movie.

We understand that Marvel is now owned by Disney and it will probably be a long time before any of its movies deal with mature subject matter, but someone at the studio needs to grow a pair and give Refn the keys to the kingdom of Asgard.