Ask any Marvel fan, and they’ll agree that Thor: Ragnarok was a marginally better movie than Thor: The Dark World. There’s absolutely no contest there, actually, and the wonderfully delightful tone of the third film owes much to the wicked humor of director Taika Waititi and his take on the cosmic MCU. No one knew whether we’d see a fourth installment of the Thor standalone variety (although Tessa Thompson, who plays Valkyrie, suggested that a pitch had taken place), but the Hollywood Reporter now reports that the fourth film is a go, and Waititi will not only return to direct but will write as well.

The outlet notes that Chris Hemsworth “is expected” to return as the God of Thunder, which sounds like the understatement of the MCU. Of course, Hemsworth will return … why wouldn’t he? The Men In Black: International star has openly declared that he wants to keep playing Thor until the New Asgardian cows come home. Even though that discussion was framed around the idea of Thor joining Guardians of the Galaxy 3, his message was clear. Unlike Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, Hemsworth is in no hurry to leave the MCU. Will he still be Thor Lebowski or Bro Thor? Something tells me that he’ll shed the extra poundage, but hopefully, his character development shall continue.

As for Waititi, signing onto Thor 4 apparently comes at a slight price. He’ll be pushing back work on his Akira adaptation of the Japanese manga, which was originally dated for a May 2021 release for Warner Bros. More on that subject to come, no doubt, but seeing Waititi sliding back into the cosmic MCU should be enough to please comic book fans in the meantime.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)