‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Director Taika Waititi Refuses To Touch ‘Star Wars’ Franchise

Even before Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok” is released, critics are already raving about Taika Waititi’s movie. Everybody just loves what the Australian filmmaker did to the third movie in the “Thor” franchise, so much so that his name is being floated around for a “Star Wars” film.

However, Waititi does not think he’d be a good fit for Lucasfilm’s stories.

“That particular franchise seems really hard. There’s not much room for someone like me,” he told the New York Times. “Through its narrow canon, the tone of ‘Star Wars’ has always been determinedly self-serious, whereas the Marvel movies, like the decades of comics they sprang from, veer wildly from high drama to low comedy. And improvisation has been a tool in every Marvel movie since Robert Downey Jr. riffed his way through ‘Iron Man.’”

Comedy is an important component in “Thor: Ragnarok,” and it was humor that made it stand out from the first two “Thor” films. “I want to take people on a ride and inject some comedy into it,” Waititi told The Verge about his new movie. “An adventure that keeps people laughing along the way, but also has the spectacle and stuff that gets people excited.”

Chris Hemsworth, who plays the title character in the movie, said that Waititi’s humor was a welcome change. Thor is known to be a pretty serious guy, but the upcoming Marvel movie managed to make him hilarious. “[It’s] the perfect mix for where this character needs to go,” said Hemsworth. “Different costumes, different weapons, different casts or characters to work on give you a different energy.”

Waititi also received praises from Tom Hiddleston, the actor who plays Loki in the franchise. Hiddleston said that Waititi might have made the movie hilarious to watch, but that does not mean he completely changed the tone of the film.

“Taika’s been so respectful to the mythology,” Hiddleston, who plays the mischievous Loki in the franchise, told Empire. “But he’s injected so much humour into it. He’s given every character truly laugh-out-loud moments without betraying their integrity.”

“Thor: Ragnarok” will be released on Nov. 3.