Taika Waititi Harshly Responds To Director’s Cuts

Taika Waititi let his opinions be known about making a director's cut for Thor: Love and Thunder, and fans might not want to expect that to happen.

By James Brizuela | Published

Taika Waititi

Reviews are starting to pour out for Thor: Love and Thunder, and one of the biggest gripes with the movie has to be the pacing. This gripe has also been further talked about with stars like Natalie Portman speaking about the scenes that have been cut from the final look of the film. Naturally, this has led to many asking Taika Waititi if he would ever be interested in releasing the “Taika Cut.” This is in reference to the “Snyder Cut” that was released which was a four-hour version of Justice League. However, Taika has no interest in that style of filmmaking. According to the director, “Director’s cuts are not good.” Those are some harsh words.

We understand that editing is a major component of the filmmaking process. We also understand that a lot of directors handle their own editing, or they have a good say about what is used in the final version of their films. Taika Waititi wants to tell the story that he told on screen, and there is no sense in revisiting that. He added, “I’ve been thinking about director’s cuts. I watch director’s cuts of a lot of other directors. They suck. Director’s cuts are not good.” He also spoke about having a four-hour cut, which could be seen as a slight insult to Snyder and what he did with Justice League. However, it might be more advisable to take Waititi’s words with a bit of caution. The man is known to have quite a bit of fun in interviews.

Any director that loves what they do will ensure that the absolute best version of their film ends up as the final version. Most of the time, extra scenes that are deleted end up as a bonus feature on the home release of the said movie anyway. So, if Taika Waititi is serious about his statement about the director’s cuts, then we get why he is sounding a bit harsh about it. He has worked hard on Thor: Love and Thunder, so it is likely annoying to have to hear someone question the final product in such a way. Critiques will happen no matter what anyone does. That is the way of the world.

For now, fans can go see Thor: Love and Thunder right now in theaters and decide for themselves if the movie needs a “Taika Cut.” Personally, I think the movie would have been a bit better had it been stretched out at least 30 more minutes. That could mean there would have been time for plenty of these deleted scenes to make it into the final version of the film. Still, Thor: Love and Thunder is quite a charming MCU entry. Personal feelings aside, it accomplished what it set out to do, and Taika Waititi is still a masterful director.

Taika Waititi is now presumably moving on to the Star Wars universe. At least, that is what the rumors have been. He is also currently producing the second season of Our Flag Means Death. He could be done with writing and directing Thor, but there is plenty of other exciting ventures on the horizon for the man. He may not care for the director’s cuts of films, but we would not be mad if he chose to release one for Thor: Love and Thunder.