Taika Waititi says he had 'no interest' in directing a Marvel movie, but agreed to 'Thor' because 'I was poor'

Taika Waititi joked that "Thor" was Marvel's least popular franchise when he signed on to direct 2017's 'Thor: Ragnarok."

• Taika Waititi originally had no interest in directing a Marvel comic book movie.
• He said on the "SmartLess" podcast that he only agreed to "Thor: Ragnarok" because he was "poor."
• The director said he didn't like the "Thor" comic books when he was a child.

Taika Waititi's career has really taken off over the last decade, but it reached a high point in 2017 when he reinvigorated Marvel Studios' "Thor" franchise with "Thor: Ragnarok."

Thor's previous solo outing, 2013's "The Dark World," didn't live up to fan or critical expectations, but Waititi turned things around with a more comedic approach to the God of Thunder in "Ragnarok."

"Ragnarok" topped over $853 million at the worldwide box office, and earned a 93% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is the highest of the four "Thor" movies to date.

But speaking on Monday's episode of the "SmartLess" podcast, Waititi said he wasn't originally interested in making a Marvel movie — and only said yes to "Ragnarok" because he needed the money.

"You know what? I had no interest in doing one of those films. It wasn't on my plan for my career as an auteur," Waititi recalled. "But I was poor and I'd just had a second child, and I thought, 'You know what, this would be a great opportunity to feed these children.'"

Waititi said that he didn't like Marvel's "Thor" comic books when he was younger, so he didn't know what to do with the character.

"And 'Thor,' let's face it — it was probably the least popular franchise. I never read 'Thor' comics as a kid. That was the comic I'd pick up and be like 'Ugh,'" he quipped.

"And then I did some research on it, and I read one 'Thor' comic or 18 pages, or however long they are," the filmmaker went on to say.

Waititi said that when it came to "Ragnarok," he decided to focus on the wackier elements of Thor's character and his adventures in space.

Asked by podcast host Jason Bateman if his approach scared executives at Marvel Studios, Waititi suggested that the movie was the studio's last attempt at continuing the "Thor" series.

"I think there was no place left for them to go with that. I thought, 'Well, they've called me in, this is really the bottom of the barrel," he said.

Waititi later reunited with Hemsworth for another sequel, "Thor: Love and Thunder," which was met with a less positive reception compared to "Ragnarok."

Speaking to Business Insider recently, Waititi said that he won't be returning for "Thor 5," but noted that he'd happily work with Marvel Studios again in the future.