'Thor 4' Coming From Director Taika Waititi As Live-Action 'Akira' Is Put On Hold Indefinitely

Taika Waititi is coming back for more Thor. The Thor: Ragnarok director will return to the MCU to helm Thor 4, the first fourth film in a series that Marvel Studios has committed to so far. Waititi will write and direct the fourth installment in the Thor franchise, which will presumably once again see Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder charming us all with his impeccable abs and comedic timing. Waititi is a busy guy, and his name has been attached to several projects – most notably the long-gestating live-action Akira. But now that film is on hold indefinitely, and it might be time to throw in the towel on that project altogether.

The Thor franchise was a bit of a wet blanket on the MCU. Then Taika Waititi came along with Thor: Ragnarok, and gave it new life. Waititi brought a much-needed sense of humor to the character, resulting in a major shift in Thor in general. After Ragnarok, Chris Hemsworth pushed to make Thor more comedic in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, and we all reaped the bounty of that decision.

With all the praise piled on Ragnarok, it's understandable that Marvel wants Waititi back to helm the next Thor film and have signed him to write and direct Thor 4 (per THR). What makes this situation particularly unique is that for all their many films, Marvel has never made a fourth entry in a series. Iron Man and Captain America both got trilogies, and up until now, Thor was perceived as a trilogy as well. Now here comes Thor 4.

There are no story details available for Thor 4 yet, but it's likely that the plot will involve Hemsworth's Thor, Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, and the survivors of Asgard, who are now living in Norway.  There's also a chance the plot will carry over from the next Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, as the conclusion of Endgame saw Thor blasting off into space with the Guardians. This is all speculation, though.

Meanwhile, Waititi's commitment to Thor 4 comes at the cost of another film: Akira. The director was in the midst of a talent search for the film, while also dealing with script issues that pushed the original shooting start back. THR says the bulk of the script problems have been resolved, but the schedule for Akira was too close to the schedule for Thor 4, and Akira is now on hold. Maybe it can just stay on hold forever?

There's no Thor 4 release date yet, but Marvel is expected to have a big presence at San Diego Comic-Con this week, so we'll likely learn even more about the sequel in the days to come.