Major spoilers for The Many Saints of Newark lie ahead. 

Fans of The Sopranos are sure to be pleased with The Many Saints of Newark, as the film adds a number of fresh elements to the iconic franchise. It’s also filled with a number of big surprises that are sure to please audiences. One of the biggest shockers is likely the fact that the movie is narrated by Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli). It’s an interesting creative choice, especially considering the fact that Christopher (who died near the end of the HBO series) is narrating from beyond the grave. But according to director Alan Taylor, the idea came together in a relatively organic way. 

The film opens at Christopher’s grave and, from there, he regales viewers with key details regarding the lives of his relatives. He also remarks on his own death at the hands of his “uncle,” Tony Soprano. Having Moltisanti serve as the narrator is a nice way to further link the movie to the original show but, believe it or not, the idea wasn’t developed until much later in the creative process. Alan Taylor revealed to me that he and his collaborators always imagined the story being led by a narrative voice, but David Chase didn’t land on the exact character until the nationwide quarantine last year:

Alan Taylor does make a good point. Considering The Many Saints of Newark centers on Dickie Moltisanti (Christopher’s father), it makes plenty of sense that his son would be the one to tell the tale. And of course, the creative decision is even more compelling due to Chris’ fiery relationship with Tony Soprano. 

Micahel Imperioli, who won a Primetime Emmy for his performance as Christopher on The Sopranos, does a masterful job in his reprisal of the role. Here, his work is a lot more understated, but no less powerful. His final line in the film, in which he refers to young Tony Soprano as “the man he went to hell for,” is particularly chilling. 

Christopher’s inclusion is somewhat bittersweet, though, because it may have been the reason that another OG Sopranos character was cut from the movie. Alan Taylor recently revealed that Edie Falco’s Carmela Soprano was set to return, and he later exclusively revealed to CinemaBlend that she was meant to appear in the movie’s opening. Although Christopher was arguably the more logical character to use, it would’ve been awesome to see Falco return to her own Emmy-winning role.

Future projects related to The Sopranos have yet to be confirmed but, following David Chase’s new deal with HBO, there could be more on the way. And if they do happen, let’s hope they include more veteran characters like Christopher. Sure, Chase and co. probably aren’t interested in retreading old ground, but Michael Imperioli’s inclusion in this film proves that fan favorites can indeed be integrated into new stories in seamless ways. 

The Many Saints of Newark is now playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max until October 31.

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One of the fun aspects of The Many Saints of Newark is that it brings back classic characters from The Sopranos. In the film, viewers are presented with younger versions of fan favorites like Tony Soprano, Silvio Dante and Paulie “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri. Interestingly, director Alan Taylor previously confirmed that the movie cut a present-day scene featuring Edie Falco’s Carmela Soprano. Taylor recently opened up to CinemaBlend about the response to that major revelation and also shared thoughts on the OG stars he would’ve loved to bring into the film.

Fans of The Sopranos were likely surprised, and a bit disappointed, after learning that the Emmy winner had been cut from the finished film. However, when I recently spoke with Alan Taylor myself, he indicated that plenty of thought went into that creative decision. Taylor explained that Carmela was specifically meant to open the film, before some changes took hold:

Alan Taylor directed a number of episodes of the original HBO series and, through his work, he likely forged solid relationships with a number of the stars. When discussing the familiar faces he’d love to reteam with, he named a few key actors. This included one particular legend that I think we all wish we could watch again:

While I didn’t know James Gandolfini personally, I’d like to think that he’d be proud of the work that’s been done by Alan Taylor, David Chase, Michael Gandolfini and the rest of the cast and crew. The Many Saints of Newark not only works as a tribute to the New Jersey city, it also perfectly encapsulates the essence of the show that birthed it. The celebrated series is available to stream on HBO Max, which you can sign up for using this link.

David Chase has since expressed interest in doing another motion picture set within this universe, so there’s a chance that some of those actors could return down the road. I’d love to see a story set after The Sopranos’ series finale but, then again, I wouldn’t mind seeing another period piece, either. Here’s hoping we see more of the DiMeo crime family and the people in their orbit.

The Many Saints of Newark arrives in theaters and on HBO Max on October 1.

Director’s cuts aren’t anything new in Hollywood. Some eventually come out years after the final cut hit the big screen while others are just folklore. Zack Snyder’s Justice League was a shining light for many directors wanting to see their full vision come to life. That inspiration has filtered over to Thor: The Dark World director Alan Taylor. Years after the Thor sequel was met with mixed reception, The Many Saints of Newark director might be looking to do a Taylor cut.

In the pantheon of Marvel films, Thor: The Dark World has been regarded as one of the MCU’s weaker efforts. At the time, the story received the brunt of criticism. The film’s reception possibly led to Taika Waititi helming the well-received Thor: Ragnarok. But Alan Taylor was motivated by the grassroots effort behind Zack Snyder’s return to DC. But he doesn’t see Marvel doing for him and Thor 2 what Warner Bros. did for Snyder. The Many Saints of Newark director said about being a big champ of Snyder’s cut coming together:

As Marvel fans have seen, Disney and Marvel Studios aren’t about looking back but moving forward. So, Alan Taylor getting another shot with Thor: The Dark World probably isn’t in the cards. If Taylor got the chance to, it would be a wonderful way for him to redeem himself and the sequel within the MCU legacy. It would be nice to see what scenes were left on the cutting room floor. But the Terminator Genisys director wasn’t done speaking on the film’s difficult journey to theaters.

According to Alan Taylor, the final product wasn’t the film he envisioned. Once Taylor was done filming the Thor sequel, he admitted that’s when the relationship began to deteriorate. The celebrated director broke down for Inverse what happened during post-production.

He did praise Kevin Feige for his overall vision for Marvel. Alan Taylor admitted the studio was looking for a more theatrical version of Game of Throne before changing course. Taylor’s story made it seem like moviegoers were robbed of an epic blockbuster. Of course, this wasn’t the first time the director addressed the studio’s involvement in the final cut. While a director’s cut may never happen, Marvel fans can enjoy the Thor trilogy, including Thor: The Dark World, on Disney+.

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A very light spoiler for The Many Saints of Newark lies ahead.

The Many Saints of Newark manages to expand on the universe David Chase launched years ago with The Sopranos. While the film isn’t a contemporary story, it still feels like a natural extension of the HBO series. This can partly be attributed to the fact that the movie is helmed by veteran Sopranos director Alan Taylor. The filmmaker had no problem stepping back into the franchise, but his directing experience here did differ from his past work in two key ways.

Alan Taylor directed some of the biggest episodes of The Sopranos, including Season 1’s “Pax Soprano” and the show’s fateful penultimate episode, “The Blue Comet.” I recently had the opportunity to speak with Taylor about his work on The Many Saints of Newark and asked him what he was hoping to accomplish in the movie that he couldn’t in the TV series. For him, one of the biggest differences came from the increased production budget:

The director certainly isn’t wrong about the benefits of the larger budget. The scene in which Johnny Soprano is arrested originally appeared in the show’s seventh episode, “Down Neck.” While it was done well there, it definitely looks even better in The Many Saints of Newark. And believe me when I say it’s only one of a number of striking scenes in the film.

Aside from production values, there was also another major change for him this time -- his working relationship with David Chase. One of the reasons The Sopranos worked so well is that at the end of the day, it was fueled by Chase’s singular vision. Though as Taylor explained, this sometimes meant the writer/producer had to step in and take control on certain occasions:

With this, working on the motion picture was seemingly a breath of fresh air for the director. In this case, he was able to have more personal dialogues with the creator, as opposed to getting notes from the writers’ room:

The Thor: The Dark World director certainly made the most of the creative freedom that he had. As a seasoned film director, he certainly applied a number of his big-screen sensibilities to the theatrical Sopranos entry. Of course, his past work on the show is also quite impressive, and you can stream the episodes on HBO Max, which you can sign up for using this link.

This new story that Alan Taylor and writers David Chase and Lawrence Konner tell will surely give hardcore fans more of the Sopranos content they’ve been craving since the show finished its run in 2007. And it’ll also change the way audiences view certain aspects of the franchise…

The Many Saints of Newark opens in theaters and begins streaming on HBO Max on October 1.

Every Marvel Cinematic Universe fan has their own rankings of the various films – as there is a good bit of diversity in genre and storytelling, appealing to different tastes – but rarely will you find Thor: The Dark World put in an individual's Top 10. Save for its portal-heavy third act set piece, it's a blockbuster that is missing the fun featured in both the first and third films of the Thor series, and features what is arguably the lamest villain in the canon. It's not a movie that most look back on with a lot of positivity in the context of the larger franchise, and evidently director Alan Taylor doesn't have much love for the final product either, who apparently wanted the movie to be infused with a much greater sense of "childlike wonder."

Taylor recently sat down for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about his latest movie, the Sopranos prequel The Many Saints Of Newark, but during the conversation the topic drifted to the filmmaker's first blockbuster. He was brought on to Thor: The Dark World in the wake of Patty Jenkins stepping away from the project, and the thought was that he could apply his experience from his work on Game Of Thrones in the making of the Marvel feature. Unfortunately, according to Taylor, he lost the reins of the cut during post-production. He said,

Reflecting back on Thor: The Dark World, the first and third act of the movie are both very Earth-heavy, but the story moves away from our planet once Chris Hemsworth's titular God of Thunder reunites with Natalie Portman's Jane Foster. The movie does feature some of the "physics going wonky" material, such as when the group of kids find a truck floating weightless in the air, but there isn't much of that in the film.

Having had the experience that he did working with Marvel Studios, Alan Taylor now says that he has developed an extra kind of respect for filmmakers like James Gunn and Taika Waititi, who have notably been able to make Marvel Cinematic Universe chapters that still sport their respective unique voices. Added Taylor

It seems fair to assume that there was a lot of material from the production of Thor: The Dark World that has never seen the light of day – and you probably shouldn't expect that to change any time soon. While Marvel does release select deleted scenes on home video releases, they also keep a lot of material vaulted, and have certainly never given the green light for any project to get a "Director's Cut."

If it's been a minute since you've last seen Thor: The Dark World and ponder whether it is worth reexamination, the movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD in addition to being available for digital download, and it is also presently streaming on Disney+. As for Alan Taylor, you'll be able to see his latest work when The Many Saints Of Newark arrives in theaters and on HBO Max on October 1.

Although the first two Terminator movies remain beloved classics of both the sci-fi and action genres, and cinema in general, the film series has been on rocky terrain ever since then. Among the ways the franchise tried to revitalize itself between 2003 and 2019 was delivering a Star Trek-style reboot in the form of Terminator Genisys, which Game of Thrones and Thor: The Dark World director Alan Taylor was hired to helm. However, the movie was met with mostly negative critical reception, and this resulted in Taylor thinking his filmmaking career was over.

Alan Taylor scored the offer to direct Terminator Genisys a few months before his prior movie, Thor: The Dark World, was released in theaters. At the time, Taylor’s girlfriend, storyboard artist Jane Wu, suggested he turn down Genisys and tackle something more personal to him, but Taylor couldn’t resist the opportunity to work with Arnold Schwarzenegger and contribute to the Terminator legacy started by James Cameron. Unfortunately for him, Genisys was nowhere near as well-received as 1984’s The Terminator and 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day, which led to the depressive spiral he explained to THR:

While Terminator Genisys did well enough for itself on the commercial front with a $440 million global haul, it was maligned by most critics, ranking at 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. This is similar to how Thor: The Dark World was received, albeit to a harsher degree. That Marvel Cinematic Universe entry made nearly $645 million worldwide, but has at 66% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the lowest-ranked entries in the superhero franchise.

In any case, Terminator Genisys’ poor reception was enough to convince Alan Taylor that his time working in the filmmaking industry was over, but he eventually made his way back behind the camera with “a couple really tiny things.” This included helming the pilot for a TV adaptation of the 1971 sci-fi novel Roadside Picnic, directing an episode of the Amazon anthology series Electric Dreams and returning to Game of Thrones to direct the Season 7 episode “Beyond the Wall.” Now Taylor is finally returning to the cinematic space with The Many Saints of Newark, the Sopranos prequel movie starring Michael Gandolfini as a young Tony Soprano.

Back to Terminator Genisys, it marked Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to the T-800 role 12 years after Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and the 2015 blockbuster also starred Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, Jason Clarke as John Connor and Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese. Had a sequel moved forward, it would followed John’s journey after he was taken over by Skynet. Instead, it was decided to once again “reboot” the Terminator franchise, with 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate only building off the events of the first two movies. Ironically, Dark Fate earned better critical reception than Genisys, but did much worse at the box office, only making a little over $261 million worldwide.

As things stand now, there are no Terminator movies in development, but an anime series is being made for Netflix. Those of you curious to see how Alan Taylor’s work on The Many Saints of Newark can do so once the movie premieres on October 1 in both theaters and on HBO Max.

One of the mafia world's biggest names is about to make the jump from the small screen to the big screen. A prequel movie to HBO's The Sopranos is in development, and while we still don't know much about the overarching plot of the film (or who will even take over as Tony from the late James Gandolfini), we now have more information to work with about the creative direction behind the project. Specifically, The Many Saints of Newark (as the prequel movie will be called) has just taken a massive step forward by signing Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor to get behind the camera and helm the film.

According to The Wrap, Alan Taylor has officially signed on to direct The Many Saints of Newark. Though exact plot details remain unconfirmed at this time, we do know that the film will take place in the 1960s and focus on a series of riots that occurred in Newark, New Jersey as the city's African-American population clashed with the Italian-American populace. Moreover, as a prequel to The Sopranos, numerous characters from the original continuity are expected to show up and play a role in the narrative.

Though Taylor has arguably gained his most recent high-profile notoriety for his work on HBO's Game of Thrones, he is actually a veteran of The Sopranos world as well, winning an Emmy for an episode in Season Six and directing, a total of nine episodes over the course of the series' run.

Alan Taylor is the latest in a series of key figures to sign on for The Many Saints of Newark. In addition to the Emmy-winning director (whose small-screen credits include the aforementioned Game of Thrones, as well as Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, an Electric Dreams), The Sopranos prequel will feature a script written by David Chase, with Lawrence Konner co-writing and producing, and Nicole Lambert executive producing.

On the film side of things, Alan Taylor has helmed a number of high-profile projects over the years, although it's worth noting that the bulk of his prestige is in the small screen world. In the realm of film, he has worked on Thor: The Dark World, as well as Terminator Genisys. His experience runs the gamut in terms of genre and style, but considering his wealth of work in television, he arguably seems uniquely suited to take on a project inspired by The Sopranos.

Make sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more information about The Many Saints of Newark as new details related to the prequel become available to us. Though the film is likely still a long way off, you can head over to our 2018 movie premiere guide to get yourself up-to-date on this year's major movie releases and mark down your moviegoing calendars accordingly!

Game of Thrones has been taking liberties with the A Song of Ice and Fire source material from the very beginning, and fans have had to accept the fact that the stories on the show will be different from the stories in George R. R. Martin's books. Still, the show has generally included the major characters from the books. One of the most surprising omissions has to be the character of Young Griff, a.k.a. Aegon, who claims that he is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen, and he survived the sack of King's Landing because he was swapped with another baby boy and smuggled to safety. Now, Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor may have revealed just why Aegon never made it to the show, saying this about the importance of Jon and Dany:

Young Griff/Aegon appeared in the Tyrion chapters of fifth (and latest) book in George R. R. Martin's saga, called A Dance with Dragons. It was never confirmed that the young man was truly a Targaryen, but he clearly believed that he was. Given that Aegon's status as Rhaegar's first son puts him ahead of Dany in the line of succession, he emerged as a character who could possibly steal the show from Dany and Jon. In fact, Rhaegar even considered him the prince that was promised. According to Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor in his chat with Mashable, however, George R. R. Martin was clear to the folks at the show that Dany and Jon were the ultimate players in the game. No need to introduce Aegon if Dany and Jon are the ones who will matter!

George R. R. Martin still has a couple of books left in his saga, so readers haven't yet learned whether Aegon is legitimately a Targaryen or if he has been tricked. The reveal that Martin was emphasizing Dany and Jon way back in Season 1 may indicate that Aegon is no more than a pretender who won't be of much consequence in the books. Yes, the show has gone in some different directions from the books, but Alan Taylor seems pretty firm that Martin was the one making it clear that Dany and Jon were the end game.

It's worth noting that Martin intended to have at least one more installment in A Song of Ice and Fire on bookshelves by now. Perhaps the idea back in Season 1 was that he would have settled the Aegon question on the page before the show ever got to the point when he would or wouldn't be introduced. Winds of Winter might have resolved Aegon's story if it was released earlier. We'll likely have to wait until Winds of Winter does finally hit bookshelves for the answer to whether or not Aegon matters in the overall scheme of A Song of Ice and Fire, but it seems likely that George R. R. Martin doesn't have any grand plans for Aegon, as the prince that was promised or otherwise, and that's why he never turned up on the show.

While we don't yet know when the next book will be released, we don't have to wait much longer for the next episode. The Season 7 finale of Game of Thrones airs on Sunday, August 27 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. Swing by our fall TV premiere schedule for your other viewing options now and in the coming weeks.

Directors are like fingerprints; no two are completely alike. Whenever a filmmaker takes the reins on a superhero film, you can almost always guarantee that they will leave their own unique mark on that universe. In fact, from Christopher Nolan to James Gunn, some directors seem tailor-made to work with certain superheroes. That being said, time and time again we have seen franchises run into trouble whenever they swap directors midstream. For all of the filmmakers who have improved franchises by signing on to sequels (the Russos Brothers come to mind) there are plenty of others who have driven other series into the ground.

With that in mind, Deadpool 2's director, Tim Miller, recently dropped out of the highly anticipated project, and 20th Century Fox has started to look for his replacement. This has us incredibly worried. We've compiled a list of replacement directors who botched their shots at superhero franchises. Take a look at our entries and let us know what you think. Now let's get the ball rolling with one of the most famous fumbles in superhero movie history...

Batman Forever/Batman & Robin - Joel Schumacher

It's hard to argue against the importance of Tim Burton's Batman movies. Even if certain elements seem dated, the fact remains that the legendary filmmaker completely captured the gothic spirit of The Caped Crusader's city, mission, and overall aesthetic. However, that went down the drain when the franchise brought Joel Schumacher on board. Instead of dark, rich storytelling, Schumacher went full camp and embraced an interpretation of the Batman mythos that felt more interested in selling toys and marketing to kids than getting the universe right. Deadpool will unquestionably be a more popular character by the time Deadpool 2 hits theaters, but the upcoming sequel cannot forget the tone, spirit and overall style that made the first film so beloved. Play to the fans, not the masses.

X-Men: The Last Stand - Brett Ratner

Bryan Singer pretty much started the modern age of superhero movies when he painstakingly directed X-Men and X2: X-Men United. He brought a sense of passion and nerdy enthusiasm to the material that has really become the standard for comic book movies as the years have gone by. That all changed in 2006 when Brett Ratner took the reins for X-Men: The Last Stand. Compared to Singer, Ratner clearly felt much less reverence for the Dark Phoenix source material, and it showed through his shallow handling of the characters. The entire X-Men universe would subsequently remain on shaky ground for almost a decade until Bryan Singer returned for X-Men: Days of Future Past. The folks behind Deadpool 2 must heed this example, because it perfectly encapsulates one of the first rules of comic book adaptations: get someone who knows, loves, and respects the source material.

Thor: The Dark World - Alan Taylor

When Kenneth Branagh directed the first installment in the Thor series, he brought an incredibly distinct Shakespearean sensibility and off-kilter visual style to the table. It was an astonishing feat for such an obscure character, and Thor proved to be the most theatrical Phase 1 Marvel film. Sadly, when Game of Thrones alum, Alan Taylor, took over for Thor: The Dark World, all of that went out the window. Lacking a truly distinctive personal style, Taylor more or less hobbled The Dark World together using lessons clearly picked up from his time on the HBO fantasy series, as well as ample input from Marvel Studios. The resulting product was the blandest Marvel movie to date. Deadpool 2 cannot make this mistake, whoever fills in for Tim Miller needs to share the daring and risky attitude that Miller brought to Wade Wilson's original movie. To play it safe would be to miss the point of Deadpool entirely.

The Amazing Spider-Man - Marc Webb

When Marc Webb took the Spider-Man franchise off of Sam Raimi's hands for The Amazing Spider-Man series in 2012, there was quite a bit of excitement around what the director could do. Not known for blockbuster material (let alone a superhero movie), Webb's most notable credit came in the form of (500) Days of Summer. Sadly, Summer turned out to be the perfect indicator for what to expect from the film, as The Amazing Spider-Man films only really worked during Peter Parker and Gwen Stacey's romantic scenes -- helped in large part by the chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. Despite being a competent filmmaker, Webb proved almost immediately that he was a cursory fan of the source material by comparison to his predecessor. With Deadpool 2 on the horizon, 20th Century Fox needs to make sure they bring someone on board who can capture the style necessary for a Deadpool movie, and who also has an intimate knowledge of the comics -- not just someone who can rehash the Deadpool greatest hits.

Superman III - Richard Lester

There's a strong case to be made that Richard Donner's Superman films are the most important superhero movies of all time. They treated the source material with love, and proved that men in capes could have mainstream appeal. That being said, the legacy of the Donner-era Superman films was almost immediately tarnished when the franchise was handed to Richard Lester for Superman III. Primarily known for comedies, Lester's influence on the film led to some of the most jarring tonal shifts ever seen in a superhero franchise, often relying on slapstick humor and the unbearable presence of Richard Pryor's Gus Gorman to generate "laughs." Even Superman actor, Christopher Reeve, vocally spoke out against Lester's influence on the franchise after the film's release, citing that the filmmaker was "always looking for a gag." Deadpool is obviously quite different than Superman, but that doesn't change the fact that Tim Miller established a certain tone and style that worked for this universe. That needs to be respected by whoever takes over.

The fifth installment of the Terminator franchise, Terminator: Genisys hit theaters this weekend, though it failed to hit with many critics and had the worst opening in series history (it finished in third place in the box office race behind Jurassic World and Inside Out). One element of the film many have taken issue with is the intricately layered (some have called it jumbled) timeline, but director Alan Taylor says he didn’t expect people to understand what was going on.

There are SPOILERS for Terminator: Genisys beyond this point. And killer robots from the future. Beware.

Talking to The Daily Beast, the subject of the twisting, shifting timelines came up, and Taylor admits that they knew going in that most people wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of the situation. While he expected that, he hoped people would accept that the logic holds and be able to move forward. He said:

Taylor does have a point. The timeline is rather intricate, and while you can dig into it and peel back each individual layer and distinguish every last thread, for the sake of flow, pace, and sanity watching the movie, it’s probably best to simply take it as face value as the internal logic of this world and continue forward. There is plenty of time to go back for another look and sort things out, and then we can talk about the theoretical side of time travel all day.

For the sake of clarity, Taylor does break down the various timelines and time frames of Terminator: Genisys. With the prologue, the movie starts pre-Judgment Day, where Skynet becomes self-aware and launches an assault on the human race. From there we see the world after the destruction, where the machines hunt down the remnants of humanity. Then we jump even further into the future, to 2029, where John Connor (Jason Clarke) sends Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984. After a dalliance in the era of the first film, they jump forward to 2017, which is after the original Judgment Day, but in the rewritten timeline the apocalypse still hasn’t happened. Our heroes are, of course, trying to stop it from happening at all.

That’s five distinct times, but there’s still more. Because he witnessed a key moment where events diverge, Kyle Reese can also remember an alternate timeline, recalling his 13th birthday in what Taylor calls the "happy time-verse." And there’s also a flashback to the 1970s where Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Pops Terminator rescues a young Sarah Connor (played by Taylor’s eleven-year-old daughter).

Did you get all that? All in all, there are seven timeframes to keep straight, though recently when the writers attempted to explain the complexities and inner workings of this time travel chaos, they indicted that there are many, many more possibilities out there. Should Terminator: Genisys ultimately prove successful enough to warrant more sequels, you can bet we’ll be getting even more brainteasers like this in the future. Or have they already happened? Either way, the movie is in theaters now.

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains some absolutely massive spoilers for Terminator: Genisys. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, and don’t wish for the ending to be ruined, you may want to click away to another one of our wonderful articles.

Just before the credits roll on Terminator: Genisys, it looks like everything is just peachy. Both Emilia Clarke’s Sarah Connor and Jai Courtney’s Kyle Reese manage to survive the final battle against the movie’s titular computer network, and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Pops” even gets a liquid metal upgrade. But those who wait around for the scene after the credits know that not all is really well in this new timeline, as Genisys is actually still alive.

Admittedly the scene is very quick – lasting only about 10 seconds – but it makes an impact, and makes sure that the audience knows that this story isn’t over just yet. The scene begins with a ball that is filled with red light and glowing – but then we see that it’s not alone. It turns out that Genisys – represented by a blue light in the shape of a child – has not been destroyed, and that the future of the robot uprising is still a very real thing.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to talk with Terminator: Genisys director Alan Taylor about his new movie, and it was at the close of our conversation that I brought up the post-credits sequence – seeking his inside knowledge of what it means for the future of the franchise. Noting that the scene was always part of the script from when he became involved, the filmmaker’s explanation of what it means is pretty cut and dry:

The director also revealed to me that the scene wasn’t always going to be a post-credits stinger. At times points through the post-production process it was actually put into the movie. As the movie went through test screenings, it was determined that the best place for that moment was at the very end of the last reel.

When Terminator: Genisys was announced in 2013, it was noted that the movie is going to be the first in a new trilogy of films. It’s for this reason that the movie doesn’t have a firm conclusion and feature the ultimate death of Genisys, and leaves so many unanswered questions. In my interview, however, Alan Taylor confirmed that there is a larger plan for the future of the series, filled with all the big answers. Discussing the paradox that drives the entire series (in order for John to be born, Kyle has to be sent back in time, and that doesn’t happen until the robot uprising), Taylor explained,

Terminator: Genisys is in theaters nationwide now.

As their expansive cinematic universe continues to unfold, Marvel has a definite aesthetic, a look and feel and tone that spans different movies, superheroes, and creative teams. This means that there are a lot of fingers in the pot on any given film, and the studio has been criticized for not letting individual director fully realize their visions. There are, of course, two sides to this story, but Thor: The Dark World director Alan Taylor is one who did not particularly enjoy his time working for Marvel.

While promoting his latest movie, Terminator: Genisys, which opens today, Uproxx asked Taylor how working on that film for Paramount compared to working on Thor 2. From his description, it sounds like it was a very different affair. He said:

Taylor continued by saying that, with Genisys, the story they set out to tell in the beginning is, more or less, the story audiences will experience in theaters. That definitely doesn’t sound like the case with Thor 2.

This subject, the idea that Marvel mistreats or at least devalues their directors, has been in the headlines quite a bit lately. As Warner Bros. and DC, Marvel’s chief rival in the comic book realm, get ready to launch a connected cinematic superhero universe of their own starting with next year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, WB chief Greg Silverman caused a ruckus with comments about how Marvel stifles filmmakers.

Marvel head Kevin Feige responded to these allegations, citing the likes of Joss Whedon, James Gunn, and Jon Favreau, who were able to craft their own unique films under similar conditions. Working within the established system, with a number of studio-mandated elements, isn’t going to please everyone, but there are enough reports that you have to wonder how they proceed when the vision of the studio and that of the filmmaker don’t necessarily jibe.

Before Taylor, who primarily worked in television previously, landed the gig, Thor: The Dark World went through a number of potential directors. Kenneth Branagh, who helmed the first Thor, reportedly turned down the job, as did Brian Kirk (Game of Thrones, which Taylor also worked on). Marvel hired Patty Jenkins (Monster), who would have been the first woman to direct one of their pictures, though she split with the studio after a few months and is now going to lead Wonder Woman for DC.

Marvel definitely has a system, an approach, and, at least up to this point, it has worked remarkably well for them. As Phase 2 of their cinematic universe draws to a close, Phase 3 does look like it is going to continue to expand and grow. Their upcoming slate of films introduces some much desired diversity into the MCU, we’re getting new characters and heroes, and we’ll see some more of the deep space settings that we first got a substantial dose of last year in Guardians of the Galaxy.

With new elements coming in, it will be interesting to see if we continue to hear stories of their heavy-handed ways or if they’ll loosen the reins to a degree. For those of you interested in seeing what Alan Taylor does outside of Marvel, Terminator: Genisys is in theaters now.

As seen in the previously released trailers for Terminator: Genisys, there is a sequence early in the movie that is essentially a recreation of one of the most iconic moments in the franchise: the arrival of the first T-800 in James Cameron’s original The Terminator. As accurate as the movie works to be, however, there is one notable difference between the original and the "remake": the presence of Bill Paxton as the credited "Punk Leader." You might think that this is a missed opportunity for a special, digitally de-aged cameo, but apparently that was never really on the table because of what director Alan Taylor says would have been a "slippery slope."

I had the opportunity to interview the Terminator Genisys helmer this past weekend during the blockbuster’s Los Angeles press day, and while we ultimately discussed many different elements and aspects of the movie during our chat, one subject I brought up was Bill Paxton’s absence in the movie. I asked if there had been any conversations behind the scenes about setting up a cameo, and after noting that he had worked with the actor on an episode of the HBO series Big Love, Taylor explained why it was decided not to have him appear in the film. Said the director,

Instead of Bill Paxton, John Edward Lee is the actor who plays "Punk #1" in Terminator: Genisys, but the person playing the role isn’t the only thing that’s been changed about the character: he also has a very different look. Instead of having blue, spiked hair, Lee’s hair is black, and he doesn’t have the famous tire-tread face tattoo either. To explain this Alan Taylor noted that it was partially a personal decision influenced by his sister, indie rock artist Anna Domino:

Of course, thanks to the nature of the Terminator franchise, just about any kind of continuity change within the universe can be chalked up to the story taking place in an alternate timeline from the other stories. But do you understand Alan Taylor’s approach towards the Bill Paxton cameo in Terminator: Genisys? Or would you still have liked to see him get involved? Hit the comments with your thoughts.

See Bill Paxton's scene in the original Terminator movie on the next page...

It’s a common complaint these days that there is so much marketing build up to big Hollywood movies that you by the time you finally see the finished product, you feel like you’ve seen the entire thing. Most of us haven’t even laid eyes on Terminator Genisys yet, but if you’ve been paying attention to the glut of trailers, clips, and TV spots, you know they’ve revealed some huge spoilers. According to director Alan Taylor, there is one big reason for that.

Taylor, who also directed Thor: The Dark World, recently talked to Uproxx and made it clear that he’s not a fan of all these twists being revealed in the marketing. He does, however, understand that they’re trying to differentiate their film from what came before and set it apart. He said:

If you’ve been keeping away from Terminator Genisys spoilers up to this point, good for you, that’s no easy task, but you may want to move on now, as we’re going to hit on them beyond this point.

The biggest reveal has obviously been that this iteration of John Connor, the savior of mankind, played by franchise newcomer Jason Clarke, is himself a machine. Or at least he becomes a machine, or is a machine disguised to look like John Connor. We’re not exactly sure how it plays out (at least there will be some surprises left), but we do know that someone or something we and the characters have been led to believe is John Connor is in fact a new generation of Terminator.

That’s a pretty big deal. For a time, a lot of people thought that since it has been all over the marketing campaign, this is something that happens early on. That is still entirely possible, and it sounds like there are some other reveals that have been kept under wraps, but to hear Taylor talk, that isn’t something he expected, or wanted, to be public knowledge going into his movie. He said:

There are still some big questions that remain to be answered about Terminator Genisys, like the nature of Matt Smith’s (Doctor Who) character, how the new film rewrites and interacts with the existing timeline, and what era, or eras, the bulk of the action takes place in. So we don’t quite know everything, but we’ll surely find out when the film opens this Wednesday, July 1.

I'm not going to tell you what happens in the post-credits scenes in Thor: The Dark World. The whole point of Marvel's famous credits scenes is that they're still surprising, even now that we all know to stay through the end of the credits and expect a tiny scene that moves the story forward for the next movie. But with Thor: The Dark World's director Alan Taylor talking about one of the two credits scenes in his movie, and sounding not so happy about it, it's worth revealing a tiny bit. Tiny bit! That said:

SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE POST-CREDITS SCENES IN THOR: THE DARK WORLD

OK. So if you pay attention to the upcoming Marvel Studios slate, you've probably guessed by now that one of the two bonus scenes in Thor: The Dark World sets up Guardians of the Galaxy, the next would-be franchise that Marvel is launching with a release next August. Guardians just wrapped production, it's set in outer space just like Thor-- it makes sense. And in an interview with Bleeding Cool Taylor was willing to talk a bit about the mid-credits scene that introduces the Guardians world-- and, surprisingly, sounded fairly unhappy with how it turned out. Here's the snippet in question, which starts when the Bleeding Cool interviewer asks Taylor if he filmed the scene:

To be fair, the universe of Guardians of the Galaxy is extremely different from the one of Thor: The Dark World, something that's obvious just by comparing this image from Asgard to this concept artfrom Guardians. For my money that's what makes the mid-credits scene such a blast, the contrast between the mythic world of Thor and the shinier, more modern sci-fi of Guardians. With weird stuff like Bradley Cooper voicing a raccoon and Vin Diesel probably playing a tree, Guardians will feature all kinds of things that haven't been in any other Marvel movies before, and offering a sneak peek at the end of Thor: The Dark World gives audiences a little extra time to get used to it.

And you would think that Alan Taylor, who spent years directing TV shows as varied as Game of Thrones and Sex and the City and Bored to Death, would understand how to step into a larger storytelling universe and allow other people to tinker with what he's done. But apparently that contrast between the world of Thor and the Guardians felt jarring to him, and now he's put himself in the odd position of critiquing the directorial work behind a movie that won't come out for nearly a year.

For some more info Thor: The Dark World that includes even fewer spoilers than this post, you can check out our rundown of the 10 things to look out for in the movie. And to see a space movie that is nothing at all like Guardians of the Galaxy, apparently, check out the latest trailer for Thor: The Dark World below.

If you watch a good amount of television that means you’re probably familiar with director Alan Taylor’s work. Working on the small screen since the early 1990s, Taylor has helmed episodes of some of the greatest shows in modern TV, including Mad Men, The Sopranos, The West Wing and Law & Order. But of all of those jobs, it was his specific work on one series that inspired him to take on the upcoming Thor: The Dark World: his time on the hit Game of Thrones.

Late last year myself and a small group of other film journalists flew out to London, England where we had the chance to visit the set of the upcoming Marvel movie and talk with Taylor about his work on the movie. Read on to find out not only how Game of Thrones led to the Thor sequel, but also how 3D is affecting the production, how Malekith and the Dark Elves came to be the film’s villain and much more.

It looks like the movie you’re making here looks like it has some distinct differences from Kenneth Branagh’s film. Was that almost like a pilot for this one?

Yeah. And it's funny you used the word "pilot." I've spent a lot of time in television, and, I'm a recovering TV director or whatever, but a lot of the television experience has applied well here because there is an episodic quality to it. It's volume two of something that's already been established. Like in television I try and put my stamp on what's already been established, and see what I can do to give it my sensibility a little bit. The Ken movie was very successful. He brought together an amazing cast and focused what could be a huge rambling mythology on varying intimate family relations - brother versus brother, father and son… that was all brilliant.

The only qualm I had with his movie was the look of it. To me it felt too shiny and too brand new. And I understand all the choices. It's basically because the Asgardians, they were very much a futuristic alien race that we mistook for gods. And when I came in, I was in love with the Norse mythology. I was in love with sort of grounding it more into kind of a Viking or medieval look and a sort of a sense of history and weight and stuff like that.

So, Marvel seemed to have some interest in that as well, so coming off Game of Thrones where we sort of enjoyed combining fantasy with some sense of three-dimensionality and real life, that's what I tried to bring in here. It's a funny balancing act because you have to be funny in the way that Marvel's funny, and you have to be true to some pretty absurd things. You guys saw elves in spaceships [Laughs]. But then to try to make that relatable and real and textured and rich and stuff. So, in Asgard, for example, we're seeing the back streets of Asgard rather than the shiny, golden palace, and we go into some shiny palace rooms, but we tend to blow them up this time.

And on Earth, it's London. Trying to capture contemporary London. So, ideally, you'll have all the pleasures of something that feels real, but also all of the joys that go with a Marvel movie. We'll see whether we're pulling off this combination or not.

You mentioned you were a recovering TV director. Can you compare making a TV episode with making a feature film?

I could go on and on. It's partly television versus film, but it's also my experience, HBO versus Marvel. I've been sort of spoiled on the TV end, because HBO is small. It feels like a small institution, feels like we're making independent movies. There's respect for director's contribution in a way that mainstream television doesn't really reflect, I don't think. And Marvel, I came expecting the worst. I had a friend who had done a big, studio movie that was also a sequel and he e-mailed me at one point and said, "You have no idea. Nobody here gives a flying F what I think about it." [Laughs] So, I kind of came in braced for that, but it's been very, very different. Marvel, in its weird way, also is a small group, a small institution, so it's like you're making an independent movie that just happens to cost multi-millions of dollars. But it's a handful of people in a room, making the decisions. So that creative process is not that different. You're dealing intimately with the people that you're making the movie with. I haven't quite adjusted to the fact that they respect the director more in movies. I'm still used to deferring to… somebody [laughs]. And so it's been liberating and fun to have more fun than I'm used to, but at the same time, this is a huge ocean liner. And learning when you can and can't turn the ocean liner...

That's scary.

Scary is a good word for it [laughs]. Stressful. I have discovered new layers of stress I never knew existed. At the same time, the cast was wonderful. The crew was wonderful. I cannot complain about how I have been handled by Marvel. But, yeah, stress, absolutely. There is a Marvel process where the script is sort of the last thing that you get. Where I come from, a writer-driven medium, the script is the first thing you get, and then you get to do all of your directing after that. In this one, they seemed pretty comfortable with the script being the last thing to fall into place. So that's been the source of stress.

This movie is being released in 3D, correct?

Yeah. So we hear. I was walking to set, and the PA was reading something on their iPad. And, "oh, look, Disney says..." No, when I was getting involved I did not want to get into 3D. I'd seen some 3D things that made me unhappy and on the one side was the negatives with not being happy with what I'd seen, but on the positives were that I had been through a brief course with Sony and got really excited about the language that 3D can speak and realized that I would have to learn a lot to speak that language.

So when I came into this movie, it was very much a 2D movie, and I was kind of relieved that I wasn't going to have to speak a different language I hadn't learned yet. Partway through the process, as I guess is common – it was decided mostly for financial reasons. Markets are constantly being read to see what things are gonna pay off. So I think the decision was made that it was a good idea to do 3D. So we heard that partway through, and we are aware of it now. I am not radically changing the way I'm shooting it.

We'll see [laughs]. I mean, I think we have wonderful imagery. I think that's one of the great things about the Marvel universe is it gives you a chance to play with big, wonderful imagery, which hopefully will be a pleasure in 3D. But we aren't throwing spears at the camera any more than we were before. We'll see what happens.

How much has the project shifted along the way from the beginning in terms of the story you're telling?

The story has shifted a lot, and that's part of the rollercoaster of having a script that was very much in flux. When I came, they had a first draft by an author. We immediately brought in a new writer and took it in a very different direction. I won't go into details what we thought of that draft [laughs]. But it's a wild and woolly path. Some things were agreed upon very early on, you know who our villains were gonna be, what the arc of Jane's relationship was gonna be, things like that were pretty much understood from the beginning. But there were characters in it now that were not in it, and I was sort of pushing to bring some people back that weren't originally coming back. And I still consider the script a work in progress.

With Joss Whedon being involved in this, did he get a look at the script?

No. He read a draft, and there was still some hope that he would come in and do some stuff on it for us, sort of under the table. Kind of, you know, now that he's the table [laughs]. So we were all hoping for that, but nothing -- he sort of gave his seal of approval on some things, but we haven't gotten a draft, as such.

Everyone here associated you with Game of Thrones. What drew you to want to go from that into this world?

I think it was partly that -- exactly the things that I've found myself enjoying on Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones was the first fantasy thing I've done, and like a lot of people who enjoy the show, watching it I didn't expect to respond to that world. But when I started doing it, I really started to love it; [I] started to realize that [it has] some of the things I'm naturally drawn to, like epic-scale imagery, [and] it's also grounded in these new relationships. And that's sort of what you can find in Thor as well. And there's this funny thing. I realize I've been drawn in, again and again, you know, when I did Deadwood, and when I did Rome, I love things that have one foot in history.

I was gonna be a history professor before I sold out and went into TV, so things that speak to me, that evoke that, it's really exciting to me. And Thor, even though he's a Marvel character, is also obviously deeply-rooted in Norse mythology. And you can see the look of our sets is deeply embedded or drawn from numerous sources and Celtic sources, and I just love drawing on past cultures. That's a thrill to me. I saw Avengers around the time – a rough cut, around the time that I was getting involved – and loved the balance to tones that Marvel does.

That they can make you really care, and they can make you laugh at what's just happened, and then they can… just when you think this is ridiculous, they let you know it's ridiculous. And that's a wonderful dance that they do. I saw some other films recently that only had one of those tones, and once you get used to the Marvel thing, you miss the other tones. In every scene, I saw The Avengers with my very young kids, the first laugh that came along, it was like they were like liberated. "Oh, we're allowed to laugh! I didn't know." [laughs]

You’re using a lot of sets on this film. How do you do it? How do you decide on what gets done?

I mean, I think stress was mostly in prep, because then you're worrying about every possibly thing, but once you start shooting, you don't have any choice. You have to worry about tomorrow morning. That's mostly what you focus on. But, Game of Thrones, again, we were shooting in Croatia and Belfast and Iceland, more or less simultaneously, and so I got used to sort of having attention spread around. But also, you know, we'd have fantastic designers and a fantastic DP, and a lot of that stuff, you start to trust at a certain point.

Tell us about introducing a new villain like this one.

Yeah, let's see. It was clear early on that we were going to be dealing with the Dark Elves and that Malekith was supposed to be our guy. And, um... let's see. I'm trying to remember the process by which it evolved. He's very much on a mission of vengeance and reclaiming what is rightfully his. That's not an unfamiliar device. [laughs]

Early on I started thinking he's got something in common with Roy Batty [from Blade Runner], who had a righteous mission that you sort of sympathized with. Had a kind of humanity, even though he was an evil bastard. And, obviously, his name's escaping me, but the bad guy in J.J. Abrams' wonderful Star Trek. Very similar thing. Out to avenge something. So that sort of came along with him. It started getting more personal. I, being an American, I found myself bringing some Osama Bin Laden in [laughs].

Two things happened. His mission became grander and grander, and we sort of invented a time scale for where he's been and what his backstory is. We needed to make it big enough for Thor. Other superheroes can fight bad guys in Gotham City, or can fight bad guys in Metropolis, or whatever, but Thor is part of this epic thing he's also got going on. Our villains haven’t been around for about 5,000 years. They've been pissed off since the Big Bang.

So, there's a kind of scale. You know. Odin's father had to fight them. I liked, again, it's a history lesson, it's a scale to what his mission is, but also, on the other hand, trying to make it intimate. You saw him with Adewale, who's playing Algrim, who later become Kurse. It was important for me to give an intimate relationship, so you felt a kind of brotherly… you've got Thor and Loki, and you've got Algrim and Malekith. So you have some chance for a kind of an intimate connection. So it's not just mustache twirling and blowing things up [laughs].

With the summer of 2015 set to be one of the biggest blockbuster seasons ever, it's no surprise that the major studios have already begun tinkering with the various titles and dates on the schedule like pieces on a chess board. Walt Disney made the first strike when they moved Edgar Wright's Ant-Man from November to July 31, 2015 and took Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales off the calendar completely (it was originally dated for July 10, 2015). The Universal Pictures made their move when they announced that would be putting out the next Jurassic Park sequel, Jurassic World, on June 12, 2015. And now it's time for Paramount Pictures to play around with their biggest title of the 2015 season.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has opted to change the release date for the upcoming Terminator reboot from on June 26, 2015 to Wednesday July 1, 2015. While it's only a five day shift, it's an interesting one, as the title is going from a weekend without competition to one that already has two other big movies scheduled for release. It's clear that the studio wants to control the July 4th weekend, but in doing so they will be going head-to-head with both Roland Emmerich's Independence Day 2 (an obvious fit for the holiday) and an untitled project from the folks at Illumination Entertainment, the animation studio that has produced hits like the Despicable Me movies and The Lorax. It's worth noting that Terminator currently has a two day jump on both of those films, as the other titles are dated for July 3, 2015, but it's hard to say if that will make a difference from this far out.

Paramount's attempt to take over the Independence Day weekend may also come from the studio's success in that time frame in recent years. In the last decade they have had three major hits land on the holiday, with Transformers, Transformers: Dark of The Moon and War of The Worlds all managing to make a bundle of cash in their respective release years.

Outside of the release date, there really isn't much that we know about the new Terminator movie. As we reported earlier this month, Thor: The Dark World's Alan Taylor is set to helm the film, which will be a reboot of sorts rather than a sequel to McG's Terminator: Salvation. It's being planned as the first of a new trilogy and screenwriters Patrick Lussier and Laeta Kalogridis are currently developing the script.

In other Paramount Pictures release date news, THR also adds that Alexander Payne's Nebraska has also been shifted on the release date calendar. While it was originally going to start its limited run on November 22nd of this year, it has now moved up a full week to November 15th. In the film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival back in May, Bruce Dern and Will Forte play a father and son duo who hop on the road when the dad believes that he has won the lottery.

What we know about the upcoming new Terminator movie, which is sometimes referred to as a reboot and sometimes as a sequel, could fit inside a single lightbulb at the "Tech Noir" nightclub. The movie is happening, and now has a director and everything, but details about the story are nonexistent, as writers Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier work on the script. But now that Game of Thrones and Thor: The Dark World veteran Alan Taylor is on board, we may have our best hint yet at where the next Terminator film is headed-- and I'm not sure I like it.

Few franchises have transformed as much over their lives as the Terminator films, which started with 1984's The Terminator as a slick, sci-fi tinged thriller and eventually turned in 2010's Terminator: Salvation, which involved a CGI Arnold Schwarzenegger and a robot heart transplant. The great leap into big sci-fi blockbuster happened under the capable guidance of James Cameron, who made T2: Judgment Day the first great action film of the CGI era and exponentially more successful than the original. When Cameron declined to make a third one it was probably time to call it quits, but the last decade's two Terminator movies-- Salvation as well as Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines-- have found diminishing returns, amping up the effects and fiddling even more with time travel. What started as a blazingly original sci-fi idea became a roided-up franchise dead set on competing against the big sci-fi spectacles it had inspired, while getting away from the clean narrative and flawless action filmmaking that made it work to begin with.

Terminator 5, which has been talked up for the last four years, seemed headed in the same direction until 2011, when Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures picked up the rights to the series and hired Justin Lin to direct. In a few short years Ellison has backed major directors like Paul Thomas Anderson and Kathryn Bigelow, and though Lin had helped the Fast & Furious franchise morph from dopey car races to massive spectacles, he did it with serious action chops and a constant awareness of the franchise's strengths. If anyone could continue Cameron's clean action style and unblinkered ambition, it could be Lin, with Ellison's pocketbook to back him up.

Except now we have Alan Taylor, a veteran of many, many different TV shows whose star has risen significantly since working on Game of Thrones, a show of huge vistas, large-scale battles and other tropes that translate well to the big screen. His Game of Thrones credentials made him a perfect choice for the grand-scale Thor: The Dark World, which comes to theaters in November. But does it make him right for Terminator? I'd hoped that somehow the new Terminator film could be an opportunity to strip it down, to resist the urge to highlight giant robots and big battles and allow the basics of that still-fascinating premise-- a machine sent back in time to kill-- to take over. The only plot rumor we have, about a 1940s-set story and a robot played by The Rock, seemed right along those lines. But Taylor's hiring suggests something bigger and more like Terminator 2, if we assume they've brought him in for those Game of Thrones skills. Again, that's not necessarily a bad thing. But it might not be the best way to re-introduce the Terminator franchise for a generation for whom Arnold Schwarzenegger has mostly been the governor of California.

Let us know what you hope to see in Terminator 5-- or whatever it winds up being-- in the comments.

Loki is supposed to be the twerps, angry, constantly teetering toward evil brother of Thor, the god of thunder and actual star of his own franchise. But ever since Tom Hiddleston first played the character in 2011's Thor, and especially in 2012's The Avengers, Loki has been a fan-favorite and a scene-stealer, to the point that a panel with the stars of Thor: The Dark World at Comic-Con was replaced with Hiddleston verbally abusing the crowd in character. And they loved it. Clearly high off that Comic-Con success, Thor: The Dark World director Alan Taylor has now made the only possible decision: he's adding more Loki to his movie.

Talking to Collider at D23 over the weekend, Taylor said that he's still shooting some new scenes for the film, which is due in theaters in November, and he's shot new scenes with both Hiddleston and Anthony Hopkins, who plays Thor's dad Odin. Taylor says they're continuing to do what Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige calls "plus the movie," which means adding in more and more good stuff while they're still in the editing process. And, as any die-hard Hiddleston fan could tell you, a lot of that good stuff involves the God of Mischief. "We realized how well Loki was working in the movie, and we wanted to do more with him," Taylor said in the interview. "So it was that kind of thing, it was like, 'Oh, we could do this, we could jam this in here because he's such a wonderful guy to watch do his stuff.'"

You can watch the full, brief interview with Taylor below:

Loki's role in Thor: The Dark World will be distinctly different from the one he played in Thor and The Avengers, with Thor forced to bust Loki out of jail for assistance in fighting the Dark Elves, led by the vicious Malekith (Christopher Eccleston). We're hoping this essentially makes The Dark World a buddy cop movie, with Thor as the straight-shooting hero and Loki as the wisecracking screw-up, but the two of them forced to overcome their differences for the sake of the Nine Realms. Come on, you know you've always wanted to see a Norse mythology version of Lethal Weapon. Watch the two unlikely partners in action in the latest trailer for the film:

And finally, because what fun is it to talk about Loki without actually seeing him, here's the video of him dominating the Hall H crowd at Comic-Con. My favorite parts are all the moments where Hiddleston can't resist smiling, even though he's supposed to be terrifying the crowd. "Say my name!" You got it, Loks.

The Warriors Three weren’t a huge component of Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. They were relegated to the background once Thor (Chris Hemsworth) exited Asgard for our planet, but they could have a more significant role in the upcoming Thor 2 and, as such, they are undergoing a possible recasting for a more recognizable actor.

Marvel Studios reportedly is going after Chuck star Zachary Levi to replace Josh Dallas in the role of Frandral, one of Thor’s closest friends and allies in battle. Dallas is leaving on good terms, as his time commitment to the hit ABC show Once Upon a Time means he can’t commit to the Thor sequel, which Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor will helm beginning in September. THR says Levi was the first choice to play the role in the initial Thor film, but had to pass due to his Chuck commitments. Now he’s free, and the trade says an offer is "imminent."

Which is fine. Levi’s a good actor, but I wonder still how much of a role the Warriors Three will play in Thor 2. We’re guessing a lot. Marvel has mentioned at different spots that the Thor sequel will show different sides of Asgard, so it's safe to assume most of the action will take place in Thor's home world, leading to a lot of action for his fighting buddies. Thor 2 now will open on Nov. 8, 2013. Ink Levi to a contract, and let’s get this thing underway.

Man, Hollywood is taking a sledgehammer to its release-date calendar. Amid news of Steven Spielberg’s Robopocalypse being shift back nearly a year, and new dates for two anticipated sequels (X-Men: First Class and Rise of the Planet of the Apes), comes the announcement that Thor 2 will hit theaters one week earlier than anticipated. The sequel’s new release date is November 8, 2013.

The news was shared by Exhibitor Relations on the organization’s Twitter feed. As with the rest of these date-switch stories, no reason is given for the move, though it’s unlikely that Marvel movie fans will complain that they’ll get a second Thor story sooner than expected.

What do we know about Thor 2 so far? Obviously, Chris Hemsworth is back in the lead role of the Asgardian guardian, swinging his hammer for new director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones). The storyline is expected to develop the relationship between Thor and his half-brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who was recently seen causing all sorts of trouble in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers. And Marvel President Kevin Feige has promised that we’ll see more of Thor’s home universe in the sequel (as well as the return of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster).

This shift in release dates means Thor 2 will now face off against Paramount’s animated Me and My Shadow as well as a concert film by the pop band One Direction. Now that Marvel has moved up, though, you can bet one of those will shift, perhaps moving back a week to a weekend like November 15, 2013 that currently has nothing opening.

With Iron Man 3 getting ready for production these last few weeks, all we’ve really heard on the Marvel casting front has been about that particular project. But while additions to that cast, such as Rebecca Hall, Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce, are awesome, what about the other projects that the studio currently has in the works? What’s going on with Thor 2? Today we have an answer to that question and it’s an awesome one.

Variety reports that Mads Mikkelsen is now in talks to star as the villain in Thor 2. The Danish actor is best known for playing the one-eyed antagonist in the James Bond adventure Casino Royale, but also worked with Nicolas Winding Refn on films such as Valhalla Rising and the first two Pusher movies. Unfortunately the trade doesn’t say who the villain of the film will be.

Alan Taylor, best known for his work on Game of Thrones, is directing the film and Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston will be reprising their roles. Production is scheduled to begin in September and Marvel will release the film on November 15, 2013.

So here’s the big question: who will he play? The assumption at large has been that The Enchantress and The Executioner would play the antagonist role in the sequel, but that doesn’t really work with Mikkelsen (Executioner is drawn as a hulking beast and Enchantress is a bit too much of a woman). So if those two options are out, who will be the villain of Thor 2? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

After hiring Monster director Patty Jenkins and then embarrassingly letting her go, Marvel has finally settled on a director for Thor 2, and hopefully for good this time. According to Deadline Alan Taylor has gotten the job, charged with directing the sequel set for a November 15 release date next year, with the entire original cast slated to return.

Taylor was one of two names on a rumored shortlist to replace Jenkins, thanks to his work directing episodes of Game of Thrones most recently but also a career that includes TV work on Sex and the City and Deadwood, and features like Palookaville and Kill the Poor. This is by far the director's biggest gig, which fits with the strategy Marvel has employed for years of hiring low-profile or otherwise cheap directors to kick off their superhero franchises. Jon Favreau was the actor-turned-director behind Elf when Marvel hired him to make Iron Man, and though Thor's Kenneth Branagh and The Avengers's Joss Whedon are fairly well known, neither are marquee directing names like, say, Christopher Nolan. Marvel seems to be saying consistently that the characters, not the directors, are the stars here, and hiring Taylor fits right into that strategy.

It's unclear how Taylor's hiring might fit in with Natalie Portman's reported unhappiness about Patty Jenkins being fired, but since Portman is contractually required to be in the sequel, we may never find out. Any Game of Thrones fans out there who want to fill us in on Taylor's skills and predict how well he'll do with Thor 2?

It was pretty shocking news when it was announced earlier this week that Patty Jenkins was dropping out of directing Thor 2 after having been attached to the project for the last two months. The report said that Jenkins' decision was motivated by creative differences with Marvel and that the studio would immediately start looking for someone to take her place. Well, two candidates have already risen to the top.

According to THR, Alan Taylor and Daniel Minahan are now the top two filmmakers being looked at to helm superhero sequel Thor 2. Much like Jenkins and her rumored predecessor, Game of Thrones director Brian Kirk, both Taylor and Minahan have done most of their work on television. Taylor, who has been directing TV shows since the mid-1990s, has episodes of Oz, Mad Men, Bored To Death, The Sopranos and Game of Thrones on his resume, while Minahan's prior work includes True Blood, Six Feet Under, Grey's Anatomy, and, again, Game of Thrones.

The studio is also currently looking for a writer to work on the next version of the script. While Don Payne wrote the first draft, Marvel is currently considering Sheldon Turner, John Collee (Happy Feet), Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan) and Roger Avery (Pulp Fiction). Thor 2 is currently scheduled to be released on November 15, 2013.

It's becoming pretty obvious that the folks over at Marvel are big fans of Game of Thrones and are thinking that the HBO show's look would be perfect for the thunder god's next story. Do you think they are looking in the right direction or do you think they should be more focused on finding a director with heavy feature film experience?