Elizabeth Banks Was "Really Interested" in Directing THOR: RAGNAROK but No One at Marvel Called Her Back

Elizabeth Banks is known for starring in film franchises like The Hunger Games, The Lego Movie, and Pitch Perfect, as well as the fantastic biopic Love & Mercy. But the actress has branched out to directing in the last few years, having taken on Pitch Perfect 2 and the rebooted Charlie’s Angels. Now she is promoting her third feature behind the camera, Cocaine Bear. Ahead of its release later this month, Banks told Variety that the last big franchise movie she was “really interested” in directing, she says, was Thor: Ragnarok.

“And nothing ever happened,” Banks says. She believes “a call was made” about the possibility of Banks pitching her take on Ragnarok to Marvel, but, “No one called me [back],” she says. “Taika Waititi got the job. Rightfully so.”

Ragnarok is hard to envision under anyone else’s care. Waititi brought such a vibrant film to the screen, and it was a massive hit with fans. I can’t imagine that anyone else could have done it the justice it deserved. Maybe Banks will get her shot at another Marvel property one day. But until then, Cocaine Bear is set to thrash into theaters on February 24th.