Marvel Studios has found its director for the third Thor film, and it’s a bit of an unlikely choice. Per The Wrap, Flight of the Conchords director Taika Waititi is in negotiations to take the helm of Thor: Ragnarok. The filmmaker is a veteran of television, having directed episodes of the popular HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords as well as The Inbetweeners. Most recently, however, he helmed the vampire mockumentary feature What We Do in the Shadows, which has become a bit of a cult hit following its release earlier this year.

Per the report, Waititi beat out Gangster Squad and Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer for the Thor: Ragnarok gig, with THR adding that Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball) and Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) were the other finalists. Fleischer certainly had more experience with action sequences and large ensemble casts, but in keeping with Marvel’s recent trend of going with up-and-coming filmmakers over established ones, the more unexpected choice of Waititi was made. He follows the recent hiring of Jon Watts for the untitled Spider-Man reboot, who was merely coming off the success of the Sundance indie Cop Car before landing that coveted gig.


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Image via The Orchard

Plot details for Thor: Ragnarok are under wraps, but the subtitle refers to a world-ending event in the comic book, meaning stakes are about to be raised substantially when we return to Asgard. As Ragnarok is the final Marvel Studios movie before Avengers: Infinity War — Part 1, Waititi no doubt has a major responsibility in setting up the next Avengers sequel. Chris Hemsworth will reprise his title role of Thor, and Tom Hiddleston is confirmed to return as Loki. It’s unclear who’s writing the script, but Waititi is an experienced screenwriter and most recently penned Disney’s upcoming animated film Moana, so it's possible he could lend a hand.

So with a director set, Thor: Ragnarok is now on track to begin production sometime next year in anticipation of its November 2017 release date. For a refresher, peruse all of Marvel’s upcoming calendar below, or click here for our database of superhero movie release dates.

  • Captain America: Civil War – May 6, 2016
  • Doctor Strange - November 6, 2016
  • Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – May 5, 2017
  • Spider-Man Reboot – July 28, 2017
  • Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017
  • Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 – May 4, 2018
  • Black Panther – July 6, 2018
  • Captain Marvel – November 2, 2018
  • Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2 – May 3, 2019
  • Inhumans – July 12, 2019

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Image via Marvel