Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi is a strange, young, and fun soul. His movies are something else, with a unique flair only he could pull off. With those personality traits, the MCU director can tend to be quite hilarious and spontaneous. For example, he admitted in a previous interview that he lied to Marvel to get his job on Ragnarok, revealing how he “[said] yes to everything” and that “you’ve got to fake it.”
Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt even admitted on record that the Love and Thunder director is a “madman” and a “genius.” Clearly, Waititi is doing something right, however, since he was not only able to lure Natalie Portman back into her role but also entice an actor like Christian Bale to hop aboard the MCU train.
As for how this next movie will turn out, the writer and director previously noted how the project “[felt] kind of cringey… on paper” but ended up being “cooler than the thing I was originally hoping to make.”
Now, in a new interview, Waititi revealed one of his favorite pastimes as one of the people responsible for Thor’s MCU legacy: trolling the fans.
So Why Does Taika Waititi Troll?
In an interview on The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert, Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waitita commented on how he loves to troll Marvel fans and the unique take on Loki he’d love to adapt.
When asked if Waititi ever listens to fan theories, the director responded that he “like[s] to listen to the fans and then troll the fans back a bit, because it brings [him] some bit of joy:”
“I like to listen to the fans and then troll the fans back a bit, because it brings me some bit of joy. I don’t have many joys in my life. I have my kids and trolling fans. But I like where, you know, they say-- When I did Ragnarok, there were a few people who didn’t know what I did, what I had done before. And they said, ‘He’s going to ruin Thor.’ and I would write back, ‘Oh, I’m going to ruin it alright. 100%. I’m going to ruin it for you.’ And I would say things like, ’You don’t know what you wanted until I give it to you.” I know, I know, it’s rude, it’s rude. But it’s true.”
As for how much naked Hemsworth audiences will be able to witness, the director revealed how “in the movie, it’s not pixelated. You get the full Hems-worth. The full-worthiness.”
When Colbert jokingly asks if there is a front shot or if audiences will see Mjolnir there, Waititi jokingly said, “Maybe in IMAX… Maybe in IMAX, I don’t know… No.”
Waititi then called attention to how in mythology, at one point, “[Loki] turned himself into a female horse… [and] had sex with… a serpent, and then got pregnant:”
“You guys probably all love Loki... but I don’t know if you know in mythology, Loki, at one point, turned himself into a female horse, had sex with, like, a serpent, and then got pregnant. And then gave birth to an eight-legged horse… why was that not in Avengers?”
He went on to joke how “[they’re] going to start a petition:”
“We’re going to start a petition. We need to see Tom Hiddleston pregnant with a horse… and we’ve got a hoof. And we have another hoof!’”
Trolling the Marvel Fanbase
Taika Waititi’s colorful energy is what basically saved the entire Thor franchise and gave more life to Chris Hemsworth’s tired God of Thunder. Without him, the MCU would be a different place.
That said, it makes perfect sense to learn how the director loves to troll people. He generally does it in interviews across the board—just look at the above Hiddleston-horse story if one needs more proof.
Most are exceedingly curious as to if Thor: Love and Thunder will live up to the immense hype it’s received. The director sure is confident in it, as he’s also claimed Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher is “probably the best villain that Marvel’s ever had.”
Hopefully, Natalie Portman’s return will also be worthy of the same level of praise. After all, Waititi did get a tattoo of “JANE” on his fingers—he probably wouldn’t do that if he didn’t have a good feeling about it all.
Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on July 8.
