After Thor: The Dark World arrived as arguably the MCU’s dullest, most generic entry and Avengers: Age of Ultron massively underutilized the God of Thunder (his entire arc revolves around taking a bath and having a dream to set up the MacGuffins), Marvel fans began to lose interest in the character. Chris Hemsworth himself even became disillusioned with playing Thor, as he was continually relegated to exposition dumps with pseudo-Shakespearean dialogue and bland romance with one-note characterization.
That all changed in 2015 when Taika Waititi was hired to helm Thor’s third solo outing, Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi brought his signature dry humor along with bursts of bright color, unforgettable supporting characters, and above all, the overriding sense of fun that movies about space Vikings should inherently have, but was missing from the previous Thor installments. Ragnarok reinvigorated the fanbase’s interest in watching Thor’s adventures and Hemsworth’s interest in playing him.
Although Ragnarok follows on from the plot points established in The Dark World and Age of Ultron, Waititi radically recharacterized Thor as more of a comedic role, joking his way through every situation and frequently embarrassing himself and hilariously playing it off. After the previous MCU movies characterized Thor as dangerously arrogant owing to centuries of easy victories in intergalactic wars, Ragnarok gave the God of Thunder some humility by facing him with a foe he couldn’t defeat and stranding him far away from his kingdom.
When The Dark World director Alan Taylor decided not to return for the next Thor movie, Marvel Studios began its search for the perfect filmmaker to continue Thor’s on-screen adventures. While the apocalyptic plot had initially been developed as even darker than the original two movies, the shortlist of directors that Waititi was chosen from (Zombieland’s Ruben Fleischer, Dodgeball’s Rawson Marshall Thurber, etc.) would suggest Kevin Feige always planned to lighten things up with some comedy.
The directors under consideration were required to pitch their vision for a Thor movie to Feige et al, and despite being advised against it, Waititi came in with “a sizzle reel for the tone,” essentially a supercut of clips from existing films that demonstrated what he had in mind. Waititi used Led Zeppelin’s Norse mythology-inspired classic “Immigrant Song” on the soundtrack, and it ended up being used twice in the final movie (first when Thor fights Surtur’s demons and later when he channels his thunderous powers on the Bifrost). This reel impressed Marvel enough to give Waititi the job with a generous helping of creative control.
One of the most prominently featured movies on this reel was John Carpenter’s underappreciated 1986 action-comedy Big Trouble in Little China. Mixing in elements of fantasy and martial arts action, the movie stars Kurt Russell as a trucker named Jack Burton who is unwittingly drawn into a supernatural battle taking place in a secret temple underneath Chinatown. At the time, thanks to Carpenter’s own movies like Escape from New York and The Thing, Russell was enjoying a career renaissance as an action hero. The role of Jack Burton was a hysterical subversion of what fans had come to expect from the star. Jack isn’t a tough-as-nails badass like Snake Plissken; he’s just a regular guy who isn’t equipped to handle encounters with mystical ninjas or ancient wizards.
While the movie received mixed reviews upon its initial release and bombed at the box office, it’s since been re-evaluated as a cult classic. With public interest in the Thor franchise waning pre-Ragnarok, the box office disappointment of Big Trouble in Little China may have created some fears that audiences wouldn’t get Waititi’s movie – just like moviegoers in 1986 didn’t get Carpenter’s movie – and Marvel was in for its first financial disaster. Waititi’s zany new tone was certainly a bold change that could’ve gone horribly wrong, but audiences ultimately embraced the breath of fresh air.
Thor’s recharacterization wasn’t for everyone, of course. As with anything Marvel-related, there’s a handful of scorned fans who liked the pseudo-serious tone of the past Thor movies and chastised Waititi for daring to bring some humor to the table. But for the most part, fans are thrilled with the new comical Jack Burton-esque Thor. Odinson has gone from one of the most boring Avengers to one of the most complex and beloved (and hysterical), thanks to Waititi’s contributions.
After the success of Ragnarok, it was a no-brainer for Marvel to rehire Waititi to write and direct the next Thor movie. Set to be released on May 6, 2022, Thor: Love and Thunder will revolve around Odinson passing on his mantle to his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster while Valkyrie searches for a queen to help her rule over New Asgard. It looks as though Love and Thunder will be taking even more influence from Big Trouble in Little China than Ragnarok did, as a lot of the set photos feature Chris Hemsworth in a white tank top and jeans, the same wardrobe worn by Jack Burton in Carpenter’s movie.