Thor: Love And Thunder Director Taika Waititi Finds His Movie 'In Post'
Few things make film fans shudder quite like hearing about studios or directors who insist upon the mindset of, "We'll fix it in post!" when it comes to making movies. Admittedly, longtime industry veterans know that even the most well-prepared filmmakers can't always foresee every single problem that will crop up on set during a given production, oftentimes necessitating some on-the-fly improvisation or more drastic measures to salvage whatever they can in the edit. Marvel Studios in particular is famous for setting aside weeks of time specifically for extensive reshoots and for their tendency to radically change the overall structure of their films during post-production.
"Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi operates on a similar wavelength, by his own admission, which perhaps helps explain why he's proven to be such a natural fit within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With films like "Boy," "What We Do In the Shadows," "Hunt for the Wilderpeople," and "Jojo Rabbit" under his belt (not to mention a "Star Wars" movie on the way), the director certainly knows what he's doing by now and what process works best for him. One might assume that a $200 million+ blockbuster might not be the best environment to find a film in post, but that's exactly the approach Waititi brought to "Thor: Love and Thunder."
'That's why it takes a year to finish these films'
Bringing a much stronger tone of humor in "Thor: Ragnarok" immediately helped put Taika Waititi's fingerprints all over the MCU, with a crucial assist from Chris Hemsworth's own comedic chops. But when it comes to figuring out the precise balance between comedy and drama in "Love and Thunder," the filmmaker admits that he keeps an open mind all throughout shooting and into post-production. Here's what he had to say in a recent press conference that /Film attended ahead of the release of Thor's latest adventure in just a couple weeks:
"A lot of that [balance between comedy and drama] is found in post. Like on set we've tried to do as much as possible and you know, it's just harvesting moments and then taking it back to the kitchen and trying to figure out what the actual dish is. [You have] a plan of making a certain dish and they could be very different by the time we finished cooking it. And a lot of times testing the film and seeing what audiences respond to, and sometimes you got to get rid of jokes or get rid of moments and elevate other moments. It's just a balancing act, then that's why it takes a year to finish these films."
Some filmmakers have a knack for knowing exactly what footage they need to shoot and plan their schedules down to the minute to avoid any ounce of unnecessary fat, with Steven Soderbergh being one extreme example, but Waititi is much more comfortable playing fast and loose. With this quote (and those kitchen references), one definitely gets the sense he'd be a terrific contestant on Food Network's "Chopped."
"Thor: Love and Thunder" hits theaters on July 8, 2022.