Thor: Ragnarok Director Reveals Reshoots Made "Huge Changes" to Original Film

Throughout the production of a Marvel Studios movie, many changes are made to service the plot as was the case for Thor: Ragnarok, according to filmmaker Taika Waititi. And now that he's hard at work on the highly anticipated sequel with Thor: Love and Thunder, he's aware that a lot more changes are coming to his next entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's all a part of the process, as Waititi explained in a recent interview with Variety after winning an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his film Jojo Rabbit.

Waititi revealed that a lot of things will likely change when it comes time to begin rolling film on Thor: Love and Thunder. When asked about The Mighty Thor comic being a major influence, Waititi said that he expects changes over the course of production.

"We don't know. That comics run was a big inspiration, and was an influence on the first few drafts," Waititi explained. "But at Marvel, we always change everything. I could say one thing right now, and in two years, it will be the complete opposite — or that thing won't exist. We continue writing even in post-production."

Waititi elaborated on that statement, explains that the decisions come "based on what the audience wants."

He added, "We test the film. We shot for two weeks on Thor [Ragnarok] with our pickups. There were huge, huge character changes, huge story changes. We reshot entire scenes. I think that's why they do good work. They're relentless in their pursuit of just a good movie."

The filmmaker said that he plans for reshoots, explaining that he plans for these changes and additions in all of his productions, whether Marvel Studios is footing the bill or not.

"I've done reshoots on every single movie I've done" Waititi explained. "I actually build it into my budgets. I like reshoots. No shame about going and fixing it."

There is a lot of anticipation for the future of the MCU especially with the knowledge that Natalie Portman is returning to become the Mighty Thor in the next movie, and producer Kevin Feige previously teased that it will be an epic moment for fans.

"We love the story -- it's one of the best comic runs recently," Feige said in an interview with CNN. "[Director Taika Waitit] would flip through and read that run while he was doing Ragnarok. And I think when he agreed to come back and do another Thor, he was like, 'How do we--?' This is a very big movie that'll be folding in a lot of elements. That is a huge important part of it. He pitched it to us, and we were totally in. We loved it. We'd been in touch with Natalie. She's part of the MCU family and we put she and Taika together. It took one meeting and she agreed to do it."

Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to premiere in theaters on November 5, 2021.

[h/t Variety]