Taika Waititi Explains How His ‘Green Lantern’ Role Prepared Him for ‘Thor: Ragnarok’

Over the year’s, Marvel’s marketing strategy seems to have pivoted slightly. As the movies have become more successful and the core group of actors have settled into their roles, Marvel seems to now be emphasizing the fresh blood in its pre-release publicity. Tom Holland gushing about playing Spider-Man? Brie Larson discussing the importance of Captain Marvel? Taika Waititi having a blast talking up his cast and crew? It doesn’t really matter what side of the camera you were on; if you’re still riding that Marvel high, you’ll be the one to do the talking.

And talk Waititi has. In a recent interview with ScreenRant (via Heroic Hollywood), Waititi reflected on his role in the 2011 superhero flop Green Lantern and explained why watching director Martin Campbell manage his set was a valuable lesson for him when it came time to direct his own superhero movie:

I mean, when I was in [Green Lantern] I was just determined to try and do a good job with the job I was doing there. I spent a long time just sitting around on set, as you do, and so I’d watch a lot of how Martin [Campbell] would run things. And he’s a great – he runs a set very, very well, and very efficient. But again, very different to the way I do things, and I think I probably learned more watching a lot of other super hero movies, and a lot of big studio films, you know. I started realizing, ‘Oh I think I know what’s going wrong with these films.’

This continues to be the theme of Marvel’s marketing for Thor: Ragnarok: they hired an eccentric filmmaker, he was allowed to do his own thing during the movie, and the result is something unlike anything we’ve seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For now, there’s no real reason to disbelieve them; Waititi has been allowed to take an upfront position in the marketing and promotion of the film, suggesting that he and Marvel are both pleased with the final product. Of course, we won’t know for sure until October 25, but for now, we can at least keep our fingers crossed that Waititi’s comments about learning from the mistakes of other superhero movies are more than just a pleasant interview soundbite.