After they kicked the tires on a few possibilities (and returned one to the lot), Marvel finally decided on TV/HBO regular Alan Taylor (“The Sopranos”, “Game of Thrones”) to direct their sequel to THOR.
Now the Thunder God’s second solo adventure is also getting a script shine by Robert Rodat, who wrote SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and THE PATRIOT (as well as the recent attempts to bring WARCRAFT to the screen). Rodat is reworking the previous draft by Don Payne, one of the credited writers on the first THOR. Not a huge surprise, as a rewrite is pretty standard with a director change.
Marvel movie honcho Kevin Feige said the sequel would “primarily be the journey of that character, of he and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and how the new dynamic with his father (Odin, played by Anthony Hopkins) is working out, as well as what are the broader stakes for The Nine Worlds.” That overall concept may not change drastically (the movie already has a release date plotted for November 15, 2013 after shuffling from the summer due to delays in director selection), but there’s still Portman’s reported fury over the dismissal of director Patty Jenkins to consider…
Meanwhile, Thor’s devious brother Loki will return for yet more trickery, as actor Tom Hiddleston recently told Empire “we’re supposed to film it in London in the summer and that it is being directed by Alan Taylor.” As for what he’ll be up to after making a mess of the Marvel universe in THE AVENGERS, Hiddleston will only say: “Loki’s eternal predilection is to dance on the fault lines of villainy and redemption.”