12 Movies Studios Tried (And Failed) To Fix After Fan Reactions

With the second phase of the MCU came what some consider to be the worst film of the entire series, in the form of Thor: The Dark World.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has always been a very studio-involved process, with producer Kevin Feige curating the entire saga rather than taking a more writer- and director-led approach. This method may have seen its boons in the likes of The Avengers, not to mention the overall cogency of the universe, but it didn't help the second Thor.

The Dark World hit early issues with director Patty Jenkins (now of Wonder Woman notoriety) leaving the project and Natalie Portman losing faith in both the film and the studio as a result. This was compounded by Christopher Eccleston's (villain Malekith) distaste for the way the studio operated, and the mindset of both actors shows in the final product.

Nevertheless, the studio marched on with the production and screened the feature to audiences, whose whims they tailored reshoots around. Their main qualm was the death of Loki, and thus his heroic sacrifice was undercut and he was born again.

Thus, this sequel was brought to screen complete with its lack of originality and pacing, focusing more on pure fan service than grit or inspired storytelling. The film may have smashed the box office, but it set the course for a series of lacklustre films and stop gaps that seem to exist only to keep the series afloat between the cornerstone features and large-scale universe developments.