Thor: Director Taika Waititi says humour often helps him in putting the audience at ease.

Thor: Love and Thunder starring Chris Hemsworth is directed by Taika Waititi. Produced by Kevin Feige-led Marvel Studios, the flick is set to release in India on July 7. The 46-year-old director, who was a member of the five-person comedy group "So You're a Man" before making the transition to the big screen, has switched from directing serious films to more light-hearted ones.

According to filmmaker Taika Waititi, who has merged the serious with the humorous to depict what a superhero going through a "midlife crisis" looks like in the next Marvel film Thor: Love and Thunder says, humour is a vital tool to address significant topics in his works.

In a recent interview, Waititi said, “For me, to bring the audience in and make them drop their guard or when you want to get to know someone or get them to trust you, you do it with humour… And then when they are your friend, you can talk about more serious issues, like love. With this film, we used humour to bring the audience in and make friends with them and then talk about Thor going through a midlife crisis or not knowing where he is in life. So, humour for me is a very important tool.”

Talking about getting inspiration for his films from Marvel comics, the director said, “There’s a lot going on, there’s a lot of adventure and it’s a really crazy storyline. Like in the comic books, at one point Loki turns Thor into a frog and you never see that in movies. I realized that with Ragnarok and this film, we just need to lean deeper into the exciting world of Marvel Comics. A lot of the stuff comes from the books, comes from the comics, like the giant goats, ship, and all of that stuff.”

Following the completion of the movie, the multi-hyphenate director will work on a Star Wars feature with scriptwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns.