The Kiwi man directed two Marvel films
As a film fan, you like to imagine that the director behind a movie that you're watching is both passionate about the project and has taken it on for all the right reasons.
On the other hand, it's refreshing to hear the unvarnished truth from someone who has helmed a blockbuster franchise worth millions.
Step forward Taika Waititi, a man who is not afraid to speak his mind.
Waititi directed two Marvel movies - 'Thor: Ragnarok' and 'Thor: Love and Thunder', but in a new interview he has revealed that he had no great ambition to work with Marvel and basically did it for the money.
"You know what? I had no interest in doing one of those films," he told the SmartLess podcast. "It wasn’t on my plan for my career as an auteur. But I was poor and I’d just had a second child, and I thought, ‘You know what, this would be a great opportunity to feed these children.'"
Nor was he a great fan of 'Thor' in particular.
"And ‘Thor,’ let’s face it — it was probably the least popular franchise," he said. "I never read ‘Thor’ comics as a kid. That was the comic I’d pick up and be like ‘Ugh.’ And then I did some research on it, and I read one ‘Thor’ comic or 18 pages, or however long they are. I was still baffled by this character."
Waititi recently confirmed that he would not be returning to direct the fifth 'Thor' film, saying "I’m going to concentrate on these other films that I’ve signed on for … But I love Marvel, I love working with them. I love Chris [Hemsworth]."