Taika Waititi Lied To Marvel To Get Thor Directing Job
Taika Waititi reveals he lied to Marvel Studios to get his Thor: Ragnarok directing job by saying yes to everything in his early conversations. The New Zealand filmmaker first rose to stardom in the early '00s with his short film Two Cars, One Night, for which he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Live-Action Short Film before slowly making a name for himself in the independent film scene with the dramedy Boy and mockumentary horror comedy What We Do in the Shadows. Waititi would receive further critical acclaim for Hunt for the Wilderpeeple, which set a records for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a New Zealand film and would become the highest-grossing film of all-time in the country.
Waititi would further bolster his international stardom by landing the coveted directing gig for Thor: Ragnarok, the third installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise and also starring in the film as the Kronan gladiator Korg who befriends the titular hero. The threequel scored rave reviews from critics and audiences alike and estabalished his strength in the world of big-budget filmmaking, including returning for Thor: Love and Thunder as co-writer/co-director/star, co-writing and directing a new live-action Star Wars film, directing and starring in an episode of The Mandalorian and being attached to adaptations of Akira and Flash Gordon. As his star power continues to grow, it appears Waititi's strengths extend outside of filmmaking.
In a recent appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Taika Waititi reflected on his time working with Marvel Studios thus far. When asked how he was able to impress "the folks at Marvel," the filmmaker admitted he lied and said yes to everything in his discussions with them. See what Waititi shared below:
"Say yes to everything. Absolutely, I can do that. I won’t let you down. you know. If you want a job, you’ve got to lie. You’ve got to fake it."
This isn't the first time Waititi has admitted to being sneaky in his efforts to land the Thor: Ragnarok directing job. In a behind-the-scenes MCU book released last year, Waititi revealed he and Chris Hemsworth purposely didn't disclose their friendship to Marvel prior to his having landed the job, with the filmmaker not wanting to relay on the star to get the job. Interestingly, while Waititi admits to saying "yes" to everything Marvel asked of him during their early meetings, he also went against their normal process by putting together a sizzle reel for his pitch utilizing clips from other movies, including Big Trouble in Little China, and Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," something Kevin Feige says they generally discourage filmmakers from doing.
Waititi's efforts clearly paid off as Led Zeppelin, once notorious for declining their songs to be used in films, allowed "Immigrant Song" to play multiple times in Thor: Ragnarok. His unique style and approach to filmmaking also saw the threequel soar to the top of many critics and audiences' rankings for both the MCU and Thor franchises. The wait for Waititi's MCU return is nearly over as Thor: Love and Thunder is set to hit theaters on July 8.