Taika Waititi's Thor: Love And Thunder Directing Process Began By Throwing Out The Script
This year's "Thor: Love and Thunder" brought the titular Asgardian warrior back for his first solo outing since 2017's "Thor: Ragnarok." Helmed by acclaimed, award-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi, the film received mixed reactions but was praised for cutting loose and being a lighthearted addition to the Thor franchise. The film had multiple running gags, screaming goats, epic superhero catchphrases, and saw Thor as a Zeus fanboy. After a dark chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was a welcome change.
There's endless humor injected into the story, a credit to Waititi's near-chaotic, improvisational style of directing, which encouraged a collaborative process between actors ... but also required throwing out the script. Turns out, Waititi is open to making changes on filming days that can better serve the movie.
A peek inside Taika Waititi's brain
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who co-wrote "Thor: Love and Thunder" alongside Waititi, told Variety how the filmmaker often added to the script on the day of filming. Previously, Natalie Portman, who played Jane Foster/Mighty Thor in the film, confirmed the report in her cover story for the magazine.
Waititi and Robinson worked together on the scripts, but the New Zealand-based director often altered his work. He followed an outline from his initial screenplay, but recreated pretty much everything else. His co-writer joked about how Waititi's brain operated at "a pace that should not be allowed," adding that the filmmaker is full of ideas, and wanted to use them all.
"We worked on them together. He threw out his own work! We really sat in rooms and Zooms together for months and months and months, and then we would get there, and we would rehearse it, and — 'throw it out' is the wrong word. I mean, he does throw it out, but the core is still there. I would say he pluses — he can't help but always try to plus. I can't imagine Taika is ever going to write something and be like, 'It's done and we'll shoot it.'"
'It would be like, idea, idea, idea'
When the co-directors read their scripts ahead of filming scenes, Waititi continued to develop newer concepts, and Robinson would write multiple versions of the same scene. "Thor: Love and Thunder" had several versions of the same story because Robinson and Waititi were writing the story as they were filming it, "almost in real time." The writing process was ongoing: they re-wrote during table reads, and made more changes on set. Robinson described the non-stop writing process as somewhat surreal:
"There were different versions. We would read what we were shooting the next day around a table, and it would be like, idea, idea, idea. I would sit with my laptop and listen and just close my Heimdall eyes and write something and then turn my computer around to him and say, 'This?' So that was one version of it. Another version is in the first blocking rehearsal, things would start to change, and I would just have my computer and be typing with one hand, following Taika around as he moved things and changed things. There's a bit that is not in the film, but it was Hemsworth and Pratt walking through this trench, and I just remember it was such an out-of-body experience, as I'm like walking behind Taika, Chris and Chris with a laptop in this literal trench that they built that looks like you're in a planet. And I'm just like, 'What the f***? How did I get here?' It was very bizarre."
'I would always pitch to Taika'
Robinson praised Waititi for his unique perspective and capacity to conceive stories — he's the kind of filmmaker who is ever ready for his actors to improvise and ad-lib, and also welcomed suggestions from Robinson from behind the monitors. "Thor: Love and Thunder" was a deeply collaborative process:
"The third version of the way that Taika directs is he literally stands behind the monitor, and I would stand next to him, and it would just be shouting things. I was never shouting. I would always pitch to Taika and then Taika would choose what he liked. But I had a lot of time where I had a mini monitor next to Taika, and we were just writing the movie almost in real time as they were shooting it. So there were all different kinds of versions of putting together this film. Taika's brain just moves at a pace that should not be allowed. It's like, the way that he kind of thinks or looks at things and like his capacity to kind of play, but also have total control is really astounding."
"Thor: Love and Thunder" is equal parts fun, breezy and weird; it's like stepping into Taika Waititi's brain and experiencing a fever dream. It's hilarious, and has a lot going for it, and should be seen as what it tries to be: a fun ride.