By I’d say this was a shocking announcement, but I think I was more shocked by Kenneth Branagh directing the first Thor. Patty Jenkins has been signed to direct the next Thor movie for Marvel Studios. The film is currently scheduled to release November 26th, 2013, making it the first non-summer release for a Marvel tentpole. Jenkins has previously directed the Oscar-winning character study Monster, along with the pilot to The Killing and a great episode of Arrested Development.
My biggest worry here is the same problem Kenneth Branagh had. Both directors are great at getting fabulous performances out of their actors. Just look at Charlize Theron, usually not the greatest of actors, giving her single best performance in Jenkins’s Monster. The problem is that she hasn’t really shown much of an eye or a sense for action. Branagh didn’t have much action sense, and a lot of Thor‘s fights suffered for it. I hope Ms. Jenkins winds up having a better sense for action than her predecessor did, because I need to see Thor smack something with his hammer so hard that it splits a crack in the skin of this world.
[Via Deadline]