Is Matthew Vaughn’s THOR in trouble at Marvel?

Matthew Vaughn’s second attempt to make a superhero movie at Marvel with the epic Thor (he left X-Men 3 before shooting began) might end up as unsuccessful as the first. Those taking it as “a given” that Thor would be directed later this year and one of two Marvel tentpole relases next year should be alerted by the Brit director’s comments to Empire…

“We’re in a holding pattern at the moment,” he said. “It’s up to Marvel, they have to decide if they want to make the movie and then we take it from there.”

IF they decide to make the movie? IF!

That doesn’t sound good to me. Is Vaughn having to convince Marvel execs that a Thor movie could be popular?

I can understand Marvel’s cagey feeling for the movie. Thor isn’t an Iron Man or a Spider-Man or a Fantastic Four… where it’s the usual man in costume with characters that go beyond the comic book fanbase in awareness. I’m not sure Thor reaches out to the wider audience, my girlfriend didn’t know about him as a comic book character… only as the God from Nordic Mythology. Though the association isn’t all that detrimental because the character is heavily based on that legend.

Another problem worrying Marvel could be Vaughn’s intent on casting an unknown which granted didn’t harm Spider-Man, but Thor might just need that big name to draw outsiders in and define the character.
Having said that, if done correctly a Thor movie could be amazing. It would be fresh, epic as hell and unlike anything we have seen from comic books before.

And after Stardust which was an amazing audition for this kind of fantasy, I don’t think they will ever get a better director to film this.

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