Monster director Patty Jenkins to direct Thor 2?

Usually, when you're a director and one of your films is greeted with enough acclaim that the star wins an Academy Award, it means to be expect a lot of offers to be thrown your way. That didn't really happen with Patty Jenkins, though, after her 2003 film Monster earned a butt ugly Charlize Theron a Best Actress Oscar for playing serial killer Aileen Wuornos.  Theron got all the work, while Jenkins sorta faded into the distance. In fact she hasn't directed a film since, instead helming the odd episode of Entourage or Arrested Development. But now it sounds like she may be making a comeback, and in the weirdest of possible places.

Variety reports Jenkins is in talks to direct Marvel's Thor sequel, which lost it's director Kenneth Branagh pretty much as soon as it hit theaters. Marvel seems to have a thing about picking left field directors for their films. Branagh was a strange choice, and if you'll recall Brian Kirk has been the name bandied about for this job. No clue if he's still in the running, or if his commitment to directing Tom Cruise's Paper Wings has forced him to drop out.

I'll be honest, I never pegged a woman to be spearhead any part of Marvel's superhero franchise. Or if it did happen, she'd be hired for a Black Widow spinoff or something. I'm happy to see I might be wrong on that assumption. While fanboys might scoff at the idea, Jenkins could bring something interesting to the table.

Thor 2 is due to open in theaters on July 26th 2013.