'Monster' Director Patty Jenkins Exits 'Thor 2'

nullIt looks like Marvel can't hold on to a director for "Thor 2." First, "Game Of Thrones" helmer Brian Kirk was hired and left shortly after, then a somewhat controversial choice arrived in the form of "Monster" director Patty Jenkins. A woman (gasp!) who hadn't made a feature in eight years, and who moreover didn't seem to have the kind of experience needed for a superhero movie (though the same could have been said experience-wise about Kenneth Branagh). Anyway, picky fanboys will be relieved.

Deadline reports that Jenkins has exited citing "creative differences" though with an olive branch out. The trade suggested she could take over a new superhero movie at Marvel, instead of a sequel. Now, with a release date to meet, Marvel will scramble to find a director. Apparently, they are already talking to agencies trying to find someone, but this scenario doesn't bode well. They need to find someone who is free, right now, and that could possibly make the picky fanboys happy. We can't imagine that list is very long. But given the hire of Kirk and Jenkins so far, Marvel seems to be going for smaller names who will more readily follow orders and deliver what Marvel wants (and accept their notoriously paltry pay). Don't expect any auteurs to suddenly take this on (though we'd love to see someone like Gaspar Noe go nuts on this… one can dream).

Our guess? Another TV-heavy director with some free time will likely come aboard, or someone, like Jenkins, who hasn't worked all that frequently and will be lured by a big shiny movie. The clock is ticking, Marvel. Your movie is coming out on November 15, 2013.