Thor 2 Gets a Release Date and a New Director

Posted by on July 1st, 2011   Filed under: Action, Books/Comics, Fantasy
Source: Deadline

Although Marvel’s Thor was generally seen as little more than a lead-in to The Avengers, it exceeded box office expectations and currently sits as the fourth highest grossing movie of the year so far. When a movie makes $437 million worldwide, a sequel is a no-brainer and we are now faced with the reality that Thor is going to be carrying a movie franchise of his own. This week Marvel made clear their intention to start preparations for Thor 2 by setting a release date of July 26th, 2013 — just two months after Iron Man 3. They have also brought back screenwriter Don Payne, however, it looks like Kenneth Branagh will not be sitting in the director’s chair this time around.

A new director has not yet been hired to replace Branagh, but it will be interesting to see who inherits this fantastical franchise from him. If you ask me, Branagh did a pretty good job with Thor (I didn’t even mind the dutch angles), the big problem with the film was the script. Unfortunately, they’re not bringing back J. Michael Straczynski and Mark Protosevich, and instead they’re just sticking with Don Payne, whose previous credits include My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I guess we can expect a lot more goofy comedy in part 2.

Although it makes perfect sense, somehow it seems a bit strange to me that Thor will get a sequel of his own. Without The Avengers connection to keep people interested, I wonder if it will be as successful. Here’s to hoping the majority of it takes place on Asgard! Are you looking forward to Thor 2? Who would you like to see direct it?



  • Big Hungry

    Thor is one of the worst movies of the year… I would rather a reboot and I’m not a fan of those either!

  • patrik

    Thor is one of the best movies of the year… I would rather like a sequel.

  • kyri

    I would rather have a sequel and the same director.

  • Darksiders

    i was surprised by thor. wouldn’t mind seeing a second one — especially if it’s more on asgaard and less in the real world. the more sci-fi the better.

  • T. Heilman

    I’m considering driving a Black and Decker drill through my skull, good times. Come on, there has got to be better shit to discuss. Film Junk is better than this. There has got to be something better. I just saw Tree of Life and although I forgot it 20 minutes after seeing it, it is infinitely more worthy of discussion than anything to come out of a comic book franchise.

  • Heaven’s Smile

    WTF! Misleading headline (was expecting new director announcement). Is this Film Junk or Cinemablend? Don’t ever do that agian. You guys are above that shit.

  • patrik

    #5

    So what, are they supposed to just post different Tree of Life posts so we can have the same discussion over and over?

  • Nelson

    I thought the first movie was good, maybe a 7 out of 10, but I believe a sequel would definitely improve upon the first movie, so I am eager to see what they might come up with. I wish Kenneth Brannaugh was directing the sequel too, because I think he is very talented, but a new point of view in the director’s seat might make things more interesting the second time around.

  • Captain N

    This movie will be a disaster.

    Beyond that, Marvel is completely milking the Thor character in the worst way. We get Thor three years in a row now. Sounds uninteresting. I wish Marvel had more interesting characters that would be worth turning into movies; but they really don’t.

  • T. Heilman

    Patrik, I don’t give two splats about Tree of Life, my point was there are better films to talk about than shitty comic book adaptations. Does it matter who directs Thor 2? Is it going to make a difference? Maybe my reaction was extreme but I am sick of Hollywood churning out this crap. David Lynch can’t get any films off the ground because no one will give him funding but nobody thinks twice about green lighting a sequel to a film that will be patronized by people with disposable income. The Rum Diary sits on a shelf for two fucking years? Could it be worse than any of the Pirates of the Caribbean films?

    Alright, enough ranting. Forget it, I guess someone cares about Thor 2 in much the same way that most people want to fuck the prom queen even though she is as dumb as a brick and has nothing to say.

    Anyways, Film Junk rocks, they have accepted the Herculean task of reporting about films that should not, in most cases be viewed by human eyes. More importantly they make it entertaining as hell. 90% of the time I don’t even care about what film is being discussed during the podcast. Much appreciation gents!

  • Anthony

    I enjoyed Thor, probably more than I did the first Iron Man film, and that’s getting a 3rd sequel in 2013.

  • Jenn

    I would love to see a sequel directed by Joss Whedon!!!