Don't Expect To See A Director's Cut Of Thor: Love And Thunder

In case you're expecting (or campaigning for) a director's cut of Taika Waititi's "Thor: Love and Thunder," I regret to inform you that it is in vain. "Thor: Love and Thunder" is the most Taika Waititi film to have been made so far, basking in the director's eccentric vision right up to the final frame. This most probably means that Waititi already exercised maximum artistic control over the project, making the film's theatrical cut the only one that matters, in this context.

When asked whether he is aware of a petition making the rounds on the internet for a "Love and Thunder" director's cut, Waititi expressed his opinion on the notion of director's cuts as a whole, and what his version of the same would probably entail (via The Hollywood Reporter):

"I watch director's cuts of a lot of other directors. They suck. Director's cuts are not good. Directors need to be controlled sometimes and if I was to say, 'Oh you wanna watch my director's cut? It's four and a half hours long!' It's not good, at four and a half hours. There's a lot of cup-of-tea breaks in there. You don't even have to pause it."

Waititi's opinion on director's cuts is not something everybody will agree with, which is fine — contrarian perspectives about film can coexist within the same space. Waititi clearly is not a fan of extended versions or different cuts of original theatrical runs, so the theatrical cut of "Thor: Love and Thunder" will have to make do for now.

Although Waititi is right about some director's cuts running the risk of being self-indulgent and overly bloated, it is also true that director's cuts, in some respects, can be instrumental in enriching a film's themes/characters as a whole.

A good example of this would be the extended editions of Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which makes significant additions while resolving key character arcs in a satisfying manner (such as that of Saruman). Another example of cuts other than the theatrical release being far more superior is Ridley Scott's final cut of "Blade Runner," which adds greater depth to the unicorn sequence and is a cleaner, moodier, better version of the theatrical cut.

Circling back to Waititi, who does not necessarily think director's cuts always work in favor of the film, his extended version of "Love and Thunder" would probably go harder on the punchlines, and be an even more absurd version of the original. The goats are clearly the GOAT in the context of the film, and every time they appear on screen, the film is elevated from hamfisted humor to silly, genuine, childlike comedy.

Waititi also said that his cut would "probably have a few more jokes in there," and joked that the DVD deleted scenes section should have a list of the scenes, but "no links so you can't click on them." This reinforces the fact that Waititi believes that deleted scenes are deleted for a good reason, as anything that hits the cutting room floor is probably best kept out of the final project.

"Thor: Love and Thunder" is currently playing in theaters.