After the success and audience reaction to “Thor: Ragnarok,” it felt like a no-brainer for Marvel Studios to bring back writer/director Taika Waititi to tackle a follow-up with “Thor: Love & Thunder.” However, with that sequel in the rearview mirror, it does seem like people weren’t entirely thrilled with that installment, and has landed alongside “Thor: The Dark World” as one of the lesser entries in the franchise. What exactly went wrong isn’t terribly clear. Still, it sounds like whatever comes next in the “Thor” universe won’t have Waititi behind the camera as the filmmaker has decidedly moved on and is now reiterating previous public statements made to Business Insider along with giving fans some hope that a fifth movie is potentially in early development.

While they don’t have a direct quote in the piece, Inverse says while speaking with the director that Waititi has told them he has “heard” that Marvel and Chris Hemsworth are talking about what to do next with the franchise. The main takeaway is that Waititi is moving on for the time being, which isn’t that crazy to imagine given the poor reception of “Thor: Love & Thunder” and how busy the filmmaker has become with a growing list of projects in his queue.

Waititi confirmed he’s not currently working on “Thor 5,” which would be a hypothetical follow-up to his divisive “Thor: Love & Thunder.” Waititi said that while he heard star Chris Hemsworth and Marvel are in talks about making a fifth Thor movie, Waititi “needed a break from that.” “It’s a very draining process working on these films for two and a half years and nonstop,” Waititi tells Inverse.

Some of the other projects on Taika’s plate include a new live-action “Flash Gordon” remake at 20th Century Studios (had been animated previously), a mystery “Star Wars” film at Lucasfilm (we’ll be shocked if that actually comes together), a feature film adaptation of French sci-fi graphic novel “The Incal” from Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius, and adds in the interview the main thing he’ll be focusing on is “Klara & The Sun.” Oddly enough, while we had assumed that Waititi had exited the long-gestating “Akira” movie (development goes back to the 2000s) at Warner Bros., the director gives the impression he is still actively involved alongside screenwriter Charles Yu and trying his best to get an authentic version based on the original manga.

“Obviously, I think people who loved the film, I want to make sure that they’ve also read the books because there’s a lot more in the books than there are in the film,” Waititi says. “And some people are very protective over the film, which is not quite the same as the books. So we’re drawing a lot from the books.”

To Taika’s credit, it’s been extremely difficult to get the “Thor” movies right and he was able to spin magic with “Thor: Ragnarok.”

When it comes to a fifth “Thor” installment there are plenty of things that Marvel could use if they were finally willing to make an epic-level movie that harkens back to the Norse mythology that the studio has been mostly avoiding over the last four films. “Thor 5” could quickly become Marvel’s version of “Lord of The Rings: Return of The King” considering the world of Tolkien is directly inspired by the Norse myths.

Those tidbits include James Bond actor Daniel Craig nearly playing Thor’s dead brother Balder The Brave in “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” (cameo was cut) who had been a casualty of Loki’s Asgard pranks in the original myth and was briefly referenced in “Loki” Season 2. Balder’s comic book love interest Karnilla The Norn Queen, might attempt to resurrect her lost love and make dangerous alliances to make that happen. The Light Elves were teased in “She-Hulk” with the impish trickster Runa and their Kingdom within the realm of Alfheim, a fresh location they could easily use for new battle sequences. The realm of Valhalla was established in “Thor: Love & Thunder” which happens to be the home of brave dead/fallen heroes (That could include Balder, Angela, and Thor’s uncle Cul Borson) known as The Einherjar and are led by former foe, Harokin. With Ragnarok over and Odin long dead, their purpose hasn’t been fulfilled, and could become restless waiting for some big battle that is never coming. The Rock Trolls, led by iconic Thor villain Ulik, almost appeared in the original film and would make for a neat surrogate for Orcs. Speaking of Cul Borson, he could become the MCU version of The Midgard Serpent, aka, Jörmungandr, who ultimately kills Thor. Having Thor sacrifice himself to save the Light Elves or the living world entirely could be another honorable way for another original Avenger to bow out.

With that all said, Marvel has yet to announce a screenwriter or new director and we shouldn’t expect any immediate movement outside of this attempt to secure Hemsworth. Hopefully, the next time Kevin Feige is ready to announce new projects “Thor 5” will be among them and we could get early vague plot details.

SOURCE: INVERSE