Firstly, Feige’s comment about being unsure as to whether the studio would be employing one writer-director, or two individuals, is intriguing to say the least. Historically, Marvel has tended to go with separate writers and directors as a general rule – with Joss Whedon and James Gunn being the notable exceptions. Of course, there was Edgar Wright for Ant-Man, but we all know how that ended. Does this indicate a shift, of sorts, in the Marvel approach to filmmaking as it heads into its next phase?
The case could be made that the phenomenal success of Guardians Of The Galaxy – in comparison to the relatively lukewarm reception received by Avengers: Age Of Ultron – is an indicator of the fact that Marvel really needs to be looking at ways to fully refresh its brand. With such a lengthy gap between instalments of Thor movies (four years by the time Ragnarok is released), this would be great opportunity.
Whether Marvel will take that opportunity or not brings us to ‘secondly’ – the studio clearly has a very specific idea of what the film should be, given that its title was set so long ago. Presumably, this will have an impact on the choice of writer and director. We have seen, more than once, what happens when the vision of a particular director does not chime exactly with that of the studio. Moreover, screenwriters Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost were previously identified as working on the script, but based on these most recent comments from Feige, Marvel is obviously anticipating someone else coming in to finish the job – whether that person also directs or not.
All that being said, there are several Marvel movies awaiting official confirmation of directors – including Captain Marvel and Black Panther (though Ava DuVernay is currently rumoured for the latter). Could it be that Kevin Feige will unveil the line-up for all three later in the summer? Such an announcement would certainly cause the kind of publicity stir Marvel likes to generate.
Regardless, the question remains: Who will direct Thor: Ragnarok? Personally, I would hope to see the decision-makers look at highly experienced television director Jessica Yu; director of the upcoming Ben Mendelsohn movie The Adventures Of Beatle, Katherine Brooks; episodic director of most of the critically acclaimed TV shows of the past 15 years, Gloria Muzio; popular television director and helmer of the upcoming Mary Shelley’s Monster, Coky Giedroyc; and noted independent filmmaker, Kat Coiro.
An announcement naming any of those talented individuals as director of this franchise instalment would vastly increase my desire to part with the price of a movie ticket. It would also reassure audiences that Marvel is prepared to evolve along with the rest of the world, rather than cling on to archaic notions of who might be qualified to make a big-budget movie.
