Before Alan Taylor signed on to direct Thor: The Dark World, Patty Jenkins was attached to the Marvel sequel. She ultimately parted ways with the project over "creative differences," but Jenkins has now elaborated on why exactly she decided to step away and let someone else take the helm.
While speaking to Marc Maron (Joker, GLOW) on his podcast, the Wonder Woman 1984 director explained that she wanted to tackle a "big superhero film" after her bleak true-life drama Monster, and credits Marvel for hiring her for "a movie that did not require a woman at all, so I've always been super grateful to them even though it didn't work out."
Why didn't it work out? Basically, Jenkins didn't think she'd be able to deliver a good movie based on the story the studio had in mind.
"They wanted to do a story that I thought was not going to succeed, and I knew that it couldn't be me. It couldn't be me that had that happen. I was like, if they hired any guy to do it, it was going to be no big deal. But I knew in my heart I could not make a good movie out of the story they wanted to do."
Most would agree that Jenkins made the right decision, as The Dark World is generally considered to be one of the less successful MCU instalments. Taika Waititi's follow-up, however, is far more highly regarded, and Jenkins is a huge fan of the filmmaker and his take on the God of Thunder.
"Thor: Ragnarok is one of the best Marvel movies of all time, it's so good. That movie is pure joy, and so well executed. It's not gonna matter [if you're not into superhero movies]. Taika is a great filmmaker, and he just made a great film."
Waititi will return to direct Thor: Love and Thunder, which is currently shooting in Australia. WW84 is now playing in theaters (if you can find any still open) and streaming on HBO Max.