Taika Waititi Almost Missed the Opportunity to Pitch THOR: RAGNAROK to Marvel, Credits MOANA for Making It Happen
Director Taika Waititi came in and shook up the MCU with his colorful and hilarious 2017 film Thor: Ragnarok. It really felt like it was with Waititi’s influence that we got the comedic Thor we have now. He made an incredible film that has influenced the films that came after it, and fans are eagerly awaiting his next Marvel outing, Thor: Love and Thunder, that is due out next year. But Waititi’s place was not secured as an MCU director until he was able to give his pitch, and that almost didn’t happen.
In the new book, "The Story of Marvel Studios" (via /Film), authors Tara Bennett and Paul Terry shared the story of how Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok almost didn't happen, and how the director credits Disney’s Moana with saving the day.
Waititi was one of a small group of contenders vying for the directing job on the third "Thor" outing for the MCU. Producer Brad Winderbaum was set on Waititi, but there was a very limited window for Marvel President Kevin Feige to field pitches. It was nearing the end of that window, and Waititi was in Hawaii celebrating his birthday. He arranged a flight to Los Angeles for the day to present his pitch, but there was one teensy problem: he had sent some of his luggage back to his native New Zealand and his passport was inside one of the bags.
Without his passport, he didn't have a way to board the plane from Hawaii. Feige's only available meeting time was that day, so it was now or never. It looked like Waititi and Winderbaum's plans weren't going to come to fruition, but a little bit of luck intervened.
While rooting through the luggage he was taking to Los Angeles, trying to find any kind of identification, Waititi found a visa letter from The Walt Disney Company for the writing work he did on Moana. (He wrote the first draft of the script.) He showed the TSA agents at the gate the letter and explained that his passport was currently somewhere over the Pacific. The agents had heard of Moana, and excitedly corroborated Waititi's identity. He was able to make his flight after all, to the eventual joy of "Thor" fans everywhere.
It is said as far as the pitch goes that Waititi cut together scenes from all of the films that inspired his vision for the movie, set to Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," which was later used in the movie's trailer. The films ranged in tone and scope, and included Big Trouble in Little China, Superman: The Movie, Sixteen Candles, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
"If you watch it now, it feels like the movie," Winderbaum said. The reel was meant to explain the tone of the film, which is a sometimes silly, sometimes incredibly heartfelt take on the apocalypse mythos of Norse mythology, united with Marvel history. Waititi explained:
"My sizzle reel wasn't anything other than things I thought it might be cool to see, image-wise, action-wise, but also tone. There's a certain type of humor to this, and we can really be a bit fresher, with a lot of color. It should just be bold and bombastic and really in your face, as a contrast to the first two films."
Thank goodness the studio caught on to what Waititi had in mind. He carved a new path in the MCU, and I can’t wait to see what he does next. Thor: Love and Thunder is expected to hit theaters on July 8, 2022.