Television director Brian Kirk is currently in negotiations with Marvel Studios to direct their next Thor movie. Normally, I would say that entrusting a television director with the reigns of a large-scale franchise film is a somewhat risky move. But Kirk has worked on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire and Game Of Thrones, both ensembles that rely on a fair amount of visual effects work to realize their respective worlds, so he could have the chops to handle this.
It’s been just a little over a month since we learned that Thor director Kenneth Brannagh wouldn’t be back for a sequel. According to Variety, who broke the story of Kirk’s negotiations, the studio also considered Drew Goddard, James McTeigue, Noam Murro and Breck Eisner.Reportedly, the studio could go back to anyone of these directors if a deal can not be reached with Kirk.
(If that were to happen, I would hope that they go with Goddard, given his relationship with Joss Whedon, who is currently directing the studio’s superhero team-up film The Avengers.)
Although Thor only opened with mildly positive reviews (77% on Rotten Tomatoes), the film went on to sell nearly $449 million in tickets at the worldwide box office.
Thor 2 is scheduled for July 26, 2013, just a few months after the studio’s Iron Man 3 on May 3. This is shaping up to an interesting summer for Marvel Studios as it will feature their first two superhero franchise films to be released without their original directors at the wheel.
