And that’s strike two for the Norse warrior god! Yep, just when it looked like Marvel might have found someone to wrangle Thor, his feuding family and Natalie Portman’s Jane back on the screen, Patty Jenkins has decided to leave the job of directing Thor 2.
Word of Jenkins kicking off talks to take the job surfaced in September, with the surprise news that the director of Monster really was itching to tackle the superhero sequel. Hers was the first confirmed name after rumours circulated that Game Of Thrones veteran Brian Kirk might be the man for the gig.
Now, though, thanks to those pesky creative differences, Jenkins is bidding adieu to Asgard. Deadline reports that she may well show up calling the shots for another Marvel superhero project, but not a sequel.
Cue a mad scramble and Marvel’s executives hitting the contacts book as the studio (and distribution partners Disney) have a locked in November 2013 release date to meet and no one at the helm. When Jenkins’ name first surfaced, it emerged that she’d beaten out the likes of Drew Goddard, James McTeigue and Breck Eisner for the position, so perhaps we’ll see one of them announced next.
Chris Hemsworth is set to return as the titular hero, and we’d expect to see Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and, depending on what happens with Loki in The Avengers, possibly Tom Hiddleston back in some capacity.