'Monster' Director Patty Jenkins Exits 'Thor 2'

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by Kevin Jagernauth
December 6, 2011 7:31 PM
10 Comments

It looks like Marvel can't hold on to a director for "Thor 2." First, "Game Of Thrones" helmer Brian Kirk was hired and left shortly after, then a somewhat controversial choice arrived in the form of "Monster" director Patty Jenkins. A woman (gasp!) who hadn't made a feature in eight years, and who moreover didn't seem to have the kind of experience needed for a superhero movie (though the same could have been said experience-wise about Kenneth Branagh). Anyway, picky fanboys will be relieved.

Deadline reports that Jenkins has exited citing "creative differences" though with an olive branch out. The trade suggested she could take over a new superhero movie at Marvel, instead of a sequel. Now, with a release date to meet, Marvel will scramble to find a director. Apparently, they are already talking to agencies trying to find someone, but this scenario doesn't bode well. They need to find someone who is free, right now, and that could possibly make the picky fanboys happy. We can't imagine that list is very long. But given the hire of Kirk and Jenkins so far, Marvel seems to be going for smaller names who will more readily follow orders and deliver what Marvel wants (and accept their notoriously paltry pay). Don't expect any auteurs to suddenly take this on (though we'd love to see someone like Gaspar Noe go nuts on this... one can dream).

Our guess? Another TV-heavy director with some free time will likely come aboard, or someone, like Jenkins, who hasn't worked all that frequently and will be lured by a big shiny movie. The clock is ticking, Marvel. Your movie is coming out on November 15, 2013.

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More: Patty Jenkins, Thor: The Dark World, Marvel

10 Comments

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Mike | December 7, 2011 12:24 PMReply

Also, I know you guys like to write posts really quickly, and you admittedly do correct mistakes that are called out, but isn't it more professional to admit to them and post an EDIT or UPDATE within the post instead of simply editing it as if it was never there?
gonad | December 7, 2011 9:50 AMReply

Who would want a comic book sequel on their directorial CV anyway, unless they were involved in the first part. You may aswell have 'Hack' written on your on-set directors chair.
JSpinch | December 7, 2011 8:37 AMReply

Drama queen much? It's December 2011 right now, this movie doesn't come out until Nov, 2013. Avengers was shot this summer, comes out next May. Almost under a year which is normal. How is this situation a sound the alarm one? This writer is clearly out of his element.
kintaro.west | December 6, 2011 11:41 PMReply

I'm sure the shitty writer they hired to write this fucking thing had nothing to do with this.....
JP | December 6, 2011 11:27 PMReply

I mean Favreau did Elf and Zathura before Iron Man, not exactly a slam dunk choice. I thought he was a bit risky and he did a great job (at least on the first one).
Mike | December 7, 2011 12:23 PM

I didn't mean that he was a safe choice based on his track record, just his tame, studio-centered style. But I agree, he handled the first Iron Man quite well, but it truly succeeds because of its remarkable cast elevating a fairly bad writing job.
zxcvb | December 6, 2011 11:17 PMReply

I guess they realized that "Monster" wasn't actually about a monster.
Mike | December 6, 2011 10:53 PMReply

That's a relief, I'm all for more daring choices like Branagh vs. safe, boring choices like Favreau, but I did not understand her as Marvel's choice even with Branagh completing the heavy-lifting. Also, it's 23 months away, Thor 2 is scheduled for November of 2013.
HombreGato | December 6, 2011 7:53 PMReply

I'd say the closest approximation to Thor would be Farscape, so on the subject of TV directors that aren't doing anything right now...
carrie | December 6, 2011 7:34 PMReply

i think Brett Ratner is free?! !!