New 'Thor 2' director says sequel will be....funny?

As reported by Mike Sampson of Screen Crush, newly appointed director for Marvel's 'Thor 2: The Dark World' Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones) is sharing his thoughts on preparations for the sequel, due to release this fall. Previous director Kenneth Branagh opted not to return from the first film, and Taylor talked to Empire Magazine about his vision for the anticipated sequel. While sharing his desire for a "darker tone", Taylor insisted, "It's really important that it still be funny". 

I share the polite sentiments of Mike Sampson and the good people at Screen Crush on this 'Thor' update. Comic relief in superhero movies have almost become a necessary supplement. As effectively noted by Sampson, 'Ironman' enjoys Robert Downey Jr.'s amusing nature as Tony Stark. 'The Avengers' applied appropriate moments of solid comedy throughout. I think an important factor is the context. Marvel is owned by Disney, which means the content is, at some level, expected to maintain family-friendly tones. Even so, I was personally turned off by the comedic twist in 'Ironman 3' regarding the Mandarin villain; it felt too much like a comedy and somewhat downplayed the overall severity. What we (or at least I) liked about 'Thor' was the majestic allure of Asgard and the hard-smashing presence of Thor's hammer. It's not that there's no room for comical relief, but this 'Dark World' sequel sounds like it should be more perilous than amusing. 

Share your own thoughts or impressions of Alan Taylor's remarks, and be on the look out for 'Thor 2: The Dark World' scheduled to release on November 8 this fall.