Alan Taylor, the director of Thor: the Dark World, is also well known for directing a lot of great TV, like Mad Men, The Sopranos, West Wing, Law & Order, and Game of Thrones. Directing the next Thor film could be a major coup for Taylor, because the Norseman superhero is part of the Avengers, and fans should flock to see it, much like being a part of the Avengers boosted Iron Man’s grosses.
Taylor told Cinema Blend that with Thor he’s found “exactly the things I’ve found myself enjoying on Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones was the first fantasy thing I’ve done, and I didn’t expect to respond to that world. But when I started doing it, I really started to love it. It has some of the things I’m naturally drawn to, like epic-scale imagery, [and] it’s also grounded in these new relationships. That sort of what you can find in Thor as well.”
Taylor was initially going to be a history professor before becoming a director, “so things that peak to me, that evoke that, it’s really exciting to me. Even though Thor’s a Marvel character, [it’s] also obviously deeply-rooted in Norse mythology…I just love drawing on past cultures. I saw Avengers – a rough cut, around the time that I was getting involved – and the loved the balance of tones that Marvel does.”
Taylor did confirm there was a little bit of involvement from Joss Whedon, but it seems like it was mostly suggestions. This is in line with Whedon’s role at Marvel, which is consulting other projects, as well as helming the next two Avengers movies.
“There was hope that he would come in and do some stuff sort of under the time,” Taylor said. “He sort of gave his seal of approval on some things, but we haven’t gotten a [screenplay] draft [from Whedon].”
Look for Thor: The Dark World on November 8, 2013.
