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Thor: Ragnarok is now playing around the world. In the run-up to the Marvel film’s release, I got to sit down with director Taika Waititi for an extended video interview. He talked about how he got involved, how he convinced the studio to let him direct the movie, how often he’s checking the Rotten Tomatoes score, how they improvised a tremendous amount of the script, how in his initial pitch meeting he used Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song, why he’s excited for people to see the extended scenes, and so much more.

As I’m sure you all know by now, the Thor sequel finds Thor (Chris Hemsworth) stripped of his hammer by Hela (Cate Blanchett), who escapes from her Asgardian prison and lays waste to the city. Banished to a foreign planet, Thor teams up with Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and some new and old friends to take on Hela and protect the universe once and for all. The film also stars Tom Hiddleston, Karl Urban, Tessa Thompson, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Rachel House, Tadanobu Asano, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch, Clancy Brown, and Ray Stevenson.

I absolutely loved this movie. It’s probably the funniest Marvel movie to date and it’s also a really fun ride that’s also loaded with some incredible action set pieces. I had a smile on my face beginning to end. I can’t recommend Waititi’s film enough.

Check out what Takia Waititi had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about. Finally, if you missed what he had to say about why the film’s runtime changed after Comic-Con, you can click here to watch it.

Taika Waititi:

• How often is he checking Rotten Tomatoes to see if the Thor: Ragnarok score is changing?
• When did he realize people were really enjoying the film?
• Talks about the test screening process.
• Talks about the first time he met with Marvel to talk about working together.
• Had he seen the first two Thor movies before the Marvel meeting?
• Talks about what attracted him to directing a Thor movie.
• How he’s still surprised he was able to make his version of a Thor movie.
• How they improvised a tremendous amount of the script on set.
• Talks about crafting the huge action set piece in the 3^rd act.
• How he used Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin in his pitch meeting.
• What scene came closest to being in the film that he cut at the last second?
• Why he’s excited for people to see the extended scenes.
• Did they ever think about playing one of the scenes during the closing credits?
• How 18 VFX houses worked on the film.

For more on Thor: Ragnarok:

• Mark Ruffalo on Hulk’s Arc in ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers 4’
• ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Video Review: The Crew Praise the Potentially Divisive Marvel Sequel
• First ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Reactions Praise a Zany, Laugh Out Loud Intergalactic Adventure