Whenever a director leaves a project, the official line is always that it’s a mutual decision and everyone’s happy, even if what’s actually happened is far more fractious. Last week it was revealed that Marvel and director Patty Jenkins had parted ways due to ‘creative differences’ over Thor 2.

It now seems that rather than the mutual deicision it was painted as, Jenkins was actually unceremoniously fired from the movie, a move that’s upset star Natalie Portman, who’d lobbied to get Jenkins hired in the first place. According to THR, Portman is thinking of taking time off from acting to be with her baby son, but had re-engaged with Thor 2 (which she’s contractually obliged to appear in) due to Jenkins’ involvement. The news of the director’s firing went public before Portman had been told and she’s apparently very upset about the whole thing.

Marvel has gotten itself a reputation for being a bit cavalier with how it treats talent, low-balling actors on what they’d usually expect to get paid for big movies and making it tough for directors to bring their own vision to movies, but it’s gotten away with it because the films are so successful. However they do apparently want to smooth things over with Portman and are engaging her in choosing who replaces Jenkins.

There are also divergent ideas over why Patty was fired in the first place, with the Marvel camp suggesting it was because she wasn’t moving decisively enough and they were worried they’d miss the release date, while her side feels it may have been because she was too decisive and that the studio had decided her very particular vision for the film wasn’t what they wanted after all (so it was creative differences, but a full-on firing, not a parting of the ways).

Many are particularly upset she’s out as it would have made her the first female director of a big tentpole superhero movie. It doesn’t appear Marvel has any women on the shortlist to replace her.

General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser