'Thor 2' Closing in on New Director and Writer (Exclusive)

Alan Taylor and Daniel Minahan are being eyed to helm, while three screenwriters are in the mix.

5:02 PM PST 12/9/2011 by Borys Kit, Kim Masters

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Zade Rosenthal/Marvel Studios/Paramount Pictures

"Thor"

Marvel Studios is wasting no time in getting Thor 2 back on track after shocking Hollywood by parting ways with director Patty Jenkins on Tuesday.

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Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the company is looking at two director prospects: Alan Taylor and Daniel Minahan.

Taylor's most well-known feature may be 1996’s Palookaville, but he has become a huge cable TV helmer, directing episodes of HBO’s Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos and AMC’s Mad Men, among others. He also directed the pilot for NBC’s Playboy Club.

Minahan also is a big name in the TV world, working on Game of Thrones, True Blood, Deadwood and Grey’s Anatomy.

Marvel was also in the middle of hiring a writer when the Jenkins exit occurred. Don Payne had written a draft and Sheldon Turner was among those being discussed to work on the script, but the new shortlist of possible writers consists of John Collee, whose credits include Happy Feet and Master and Commander: Far Side of the World, Robert Rodat, the scribe who created the TNT show Falling Skies and wrote Saving Private Ryan, and Roger Avary, best known for sharing an Oscar with Quentin Tarantino for writing Pulp Fiction.

Jenkins beat out several other contenders for the Thor 2 directing gig when Marvel announced her as its choice in mid-October. The move put the helmer on track to be the first female director of a Marvel movie and only woman to ever direct a big-budget superhero or comic book movie. That changed when word broke on Tuesday that she and Marvel were going their separate ways over the standard excuse of “creative differences.”

Marvel may be moving fast on the sequel to this past summer’s hit, but it does have some time on its side: Thor 2 is slated for a Nov. 15, 2013 release.

Marvel declined to comment.

Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com
Twitter: @Borys_Kit

Email: Kim.Masters@thr.com
Twitter: @KimMasters