The scariest thing, honestly, was that made 16 successful films for any director.

If he's speaking honestly, coming into this thing, your biggest fear is,

am I going to come in and just destroy it all? Am I the one that is going to ruin that record?

I'm Sean Phenathy, Editor-in-Chief of the Ringer, and this is The Big Picture.

What makes a Marvel movie work? Is it the action, the interconnected universe of storytelling?

The movie stars? With rare exception, it's not really any of those things.

It's the humor. From Robert Downey Jr.'s wise, cracking Iron Man to the Guardians of the Galaxy

franchise, which treats interstellar war like a Slipstick movie, the best Marvel movies are the

funny ones. Now we have the funniest one yet. Thor, the Norse god played by Chris Hamzorth,

who wields a big hammer and a Shakespearean accent, has always been kind of a blank character.

But in Thor, Ragnarok is a different kind of hero, charming, self-aware, and most importantly,

a comedian. The credit for that goes directly to today's guest, Tiko Y.T.D.

He's a filmmaker who started out as a comedy writer and performer in New Zealand with people

like Jermaine Clement, a flight of the Concord's fame, and Y.T.D. is yet another and a long line of

unlikely director choices by Marvel. Before Ragnarok, he'd made four films, all small, all in New Zealand,

and all comedies, including last year's sweet and tart hunt for the Wilder People.

With the third Thor movie, he's turned a stately story into something much goofier,

and as he told me, he did so largely on his own, without Marvel looking over his shoulder during

the production. We talked about making Marvel funny, getting Cape Lanshets play along, and a lot more.

Without further ado, here's Tiko Y.T.D.

Very excited to be joined by Tiko Y.T.D. Tiko, welcome to the show.

Thank you for having me on the show. This is a pleasure. I'm a huge fan of your films,

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