Taika Waititi Reveals He Directed Marvel Movies Due to Financial Constraints

Taika Waititi’s Unexpected Path to Directing Marvel Films

Taika Waititi had no interest in directing Marvel films at all. But the New Zealander was persuaded to make a Thor film because he was in a difficult financial situation. The 48-year-old filmmaker disclosed this revelation in a recent episode of the SmartLess podcast.

A Decision Driven by Financial Need

In the podcast, Waititi shared, “It wasn’t my plan to make something like this. But I was poor and I had just had my second child and I thought, you know what, this would be a great opportunity to feed my kids.”

An Unexpected Project for the Unfamiliar

The director made Thor: Ragnarok and later Thor: Love and Thunder for Marvel. However, he admitted to never being a fan of the god of lightning. He mentioned, “Let’s be honest, Thor might be the least popular comic book character. I never used to read Thor comics. That was the comic I picked up and thought, ugh. Later I did some research on it and read something like eighteen pages.”

Positive Outlook on Collaboration

Despite his initial reservations, Waititi expressed positivity about the collaboration with Marvel and leading actor Chris Hemsworth. Notably, the filmmaker himself also has a role in both Thor films.