I think he did a great job with Thor this year, and probably exceeded a lot of people’s expectations, but given he was entirely unexpected to helm the original in the first place, it wasn’t a massive shock that he wouldn’t be doing the sequel, in spite of the fact that he did a great job first time around.
Then came the news in August that Brian Kirk, most known for his direction on TV’s Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire, was in talks to take over the job. But now it looks as though another name has been thrown into the ring in his place.
Patty Jenkins, probably best known for writing and directing Monster back in 2003, which won Charlize Theron her Oscar for Best Actress, is now in early talks to take the director’s chair for the second Thor film, Variety report. Since making Monster, Jenkins has been fairly quiet, taking a few directing jobs on TV’s Entourage and Arrested Development (that great episode where they build a mini to-scale model house outside their windows for the Japanese investors), and has just been back in the spotlight for her Emmy-nominated direction of the pilot episode of The Killing, which was itself nominated for six Primetime Emmys this year.
Jenkins’ name is somewhat unexpected, given that she doesn’t seem to have much experience in the special effects department. But then Branagh was just as unexpected, and he made a fantastic film, so I’m sure Marvel know what they’re doing. The talks are still in the early stages, so nothing concrete yet, but if the job does go to Jenkins, it could certainly put her name back on the map. The film has already been scheduled for a 26th July, 2013 release date, which should give us a great summer blockbuster to look forward to in two years’ time, with Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Anthony Hopkins all set to reprise their roles from the first film. More news as we get it.
