The hot streak for director Taika Waititi continues. Just a couple of weeks after it was revealed that he would be returning to Marvel Studios to write and direct the fourth installment in the Thor franchise, the Toronto International Film Festival announced that Waititi would be receiving the Ebert Director Award at the upcoming festival in September.
Waititi will already be at TIFF this year debuting his newest film, Jojo Rabbit, an anti-hate satire in which the director will also portray a version of Adolph Hitler that appears as the imaginary friend of a young boy. Scarlett Johansson, who stars in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Black Widow, also plays a lead role in the film.
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The Ebert Director Award is designed to honor a filmmaker for “making outstanding contributions to cinema,” and will be given to Waititi on September 9th during the TIFF Tribute Gala awards event.
“Taika Waititi is the rock star cinema needs right now,” said TIFF artistic director and co-head Cameron Bailey. “His films are full of razor-sharp humour, faultless style, and boundless generosity.”
Meryl Streep will be the recipient of the TIFF Tribute Actor Award at the gala, while Participant Media will receive the TIFF Impact Award. Founder and chairman Jeff Skoll and CEO David Linde will be in attendance to accept the award.
Waititi came onto the scene with highly-celebrated comedies like Boy and What We Do in the Shadows. His slightly larger film, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, ultimately helped him land a job with Marvel Studios, writing and directing Thor: Ragnarok. Waititi used the film to reinvent the entire Thor franchise, using his comedic style to breath humor into a series that was previously regarded as dull.
During Marvel Studios’ Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con last month saw Kevin Feige confirm Waititi as the director of Thor: Love and Thunder, which will feature the return of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster. The character will take on the mantle of Thor in the movie, following the story of Jason Aaron’s acclaimed comic series.
Jojo Rabbit is set to hit theaters on October 18th after premiering at TIFF in September. Thor: Love and Thunder will arrive November 5, 2021.
